“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive?” Forgiveness is difficult for us because true forgiveness, the kind we have received through  Jesus, is from the heart; it is based on love. It requires us to give up the things we so often are not ready to give up or let go of: hurt, pain, suffering, anger, revenge, pride, humiliation. But if we are honest with ourselves, we know that these things are not good for us.  They are like a poison that slowly brings confusion to our minds and darkness to our hearts. A poison that causes us to think and act as humans do; at times selfish and boastful,  unkind and revengeful; and not as God does who is, “kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.” Unforgiveness is a venomous poison that shuts down our ability to love, to be compassionate, to be charitable. It imprisons and hardens our hearts; bringing about separation, isolation and division which are harmful to us and those we care for.  They destroy our relationships, affect our spiritual well-being, deprive us of God’s love.  Unforgiviness is detrimental to our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our souls, our families, our homes, our school, our workplace, our world. So I share with you the antidote I was given to help me to forgive from the heart and to once again love and be loved by God. So let us begin a spiritual exercise on forgiveness. Before we begin, place yourself in a quiet place, silence the mind, open your heart. Say a prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide you and to bring to light any unforgiveness in your heart. The first step is to ask for forgiveness in prayer from anyone you might have offended, caused any hurt, cursed at or embarrassed. When you are ready, proceed to the next step. In prayer, forgive anyone who might have sinned against you; anyone who hurt you, embarrassed you, stole from you, cursed you, lied to you, gossiped about you, made fun of you, mocked you, used you, pretended to like you, used your stuff without permission. When you are ready, proceed to the final step which is the most difficult. Look in a mirror, gaze into your eyes and forgive yourself from the heart. I pray this spiritual exercise on forgiveness will help you as it has helped me to be free of the poison of unforgiveness and filled with the Spirit of God’s love. God’s peace and blessings always, Fr. Ivan