BISHOP
REFLECTS

Bishop Vincent Nichols is an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster Diocese. He shares his thoughts on Forgiveness.

Our Society finds understanding and practising forgiveness extremely difficult. The newspapers are full of stories of how difficult it is for people to forgive the hurt that they have suffered at the hands of others. The language of retribution and "getting even" is much more common.

I find this quite understandable. Forgiveness is difficult and costly. Sometimes, in Church, we have given the impression that forgiveness comes naturally, and is easily obtained. This is not true.

Forgiveness is difficult because it is demanding. It demands that we look more closely at the hurt that we have caused, and the damage we have done. Forgiveness is quite the opposite of minimising what happened, and saying "oh, let's forget it". Forgiveness means taking our actions seriously. So if a person is asking for forgiveness, then they must have come to terms with what they have done. And if a person is being asked for forgiveness, then they need to know that the hurt that was caused has been recognised and taken seriously.

The difficulty of achieving forgiveness is clearly seen, both in Ireland and in South Africa, and in both places on a very public stage.

So forgiveness is difficult. And it is costly. Forgiveness does require a change of behaviour. It requires a change certainly on the part of those who are seeking forgiveness, and on the part of those who are being asked to forgive. Such change is difficult to make. It means changing our position. It means setting off on a new path.

In our Christian tradition, the measure of the cost of forgiveness is very dramatically portrayed. Forgiveness costs nothing less than every drop of the blood of Christ on the cross. This is how much it costs and how difficult it is to achieve. In Christ we see the one who takes on all the hurt, the sin, of our human family. He is the one who refuses to retaliate, or to "get even". But it costs him everything.

In our Christian faith, forgiveness is a gift of God. This means it is not something that we human beings can achieve of ourselves. We have to walk the route of deeper self-knowledge and willingness to face what we have done. But even when all these things have been achieved, we still need the gift of the grace of God in order to take that extra step and truly forgive.

There is a little used verse in the Gospel of St. John, in chapter 16, in which Jesus says, "The Holy Spirit will convince the world of sin". Only under the guidance of the Holy Spirit do we really see the true nature of our sin, and of the hurt we do. Only under the influence of the Holy Spirit can we truly forgive and make new.