Rising Again and Resuming the Journey

  I was struck with that line from the article which says: "For this is our life: to rise again continuously and to resume our journey." Life must go on, no matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how painful the present situation is. But in order to really stand up again in the truest sense of the word, we have to free ourselves, or at least start freeing ourselves from the bondages that stop us from experiencing life. 

   Admitting our sins could be embarassing. It could put us into situations wherein we could feel so uncomfortable. We might experience all the trembling and uneasiness, and sometimes we get very unfavorable and hurting responses. But so what? As mentioned above, 'it is better to be red once than yellow a thousand times." If that would give you and the other peace and new beginning, then its worth the risk. By all means, go and admit your mistakes, and don't just end there. 

    Forgiving is such a challenge. Our usual tendencies are to make the phase so instant and abrupt by cutting the ties, burning the bridges and pretending that we are really set to move on. Of course, that would be better compared to staying in the same darkness but if we desire for liberation and joy, we have to be courageous and patient enough to go through the process. We have to try to trust to the intention of each other, find that humility to accept our frailties, and then really pray for strength and grace from God. 

     For me, accepting that we have done wrong is only a start. It does not give justice yet. We should be willing and ready to do acts of reparation too. We could not just say the word 'sorry' and leave the person still hurting. If we do that we could fool the world that we already have our conscience clean, but deep inside, we cannot be at peace. Sometimes, we could hate ourselves when we know that we have been causing pain to the other. But we cannot just find consolation from the feeling of being guilty forever. It is not helping you or the other party. It will only make you torture yourself and that could make the other person suffer too. Indeed, Pope Francis is right. Repentance, justice and peace go together. And I think too, that we can attain them possibly if we truly love, as God never tires of forgiving us because He completely loves us.  

taken at White Beach, Puerto Galera