Father Henri J. M. Nouwen’s Daily Meditation – Friday, January 24, 2014 “Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life” and Saturday, January 25, 2014 “Receiving Forgiveness”

Father Henri J. M. Nouwen’s Daily Meditation – Friday, January 24, 2014 “Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life” and Saturday, January 25, 2014 “Receiving Forgiveness”

Friday, January 24, 2014 “Forgiveness, the Cement of Community Life”

Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another "seventy-seven times" (see Matthew 18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love.

But what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or unspoken conditions. What needs to be forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God!

Saturday, January 25, 2014 “Receiving Forgiveness”

There are two sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others because we have not been able fully to receive it. Only as people who have accepted forgiveness can we find the inner freedom to give it. Why is receiving forgiveness so difficult? It is very hard to say, "Without your forgiveness I am still bound to what happened between us. Only you can set me free." That requires not only a confession that we have hurt somebody but also the humility to acknowledge our dependency on others. Only when we can receive forgiveness can we give it.

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Henri Nouwen Society

P.O. Box 220522

St. Louis, MO 63122 United States

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