Today’s Reading: Luke 17:1-4
An experienced elderly father, at the news of the tragic death of his son, said: “It is better to know that he was the victim not the aggressor, he was shot, not the one who pulled the trigger.”

If anyone has caused your suffering, don’t bear a grudge; do not let hatred take over your heart; do not pay evil with evil. Learn from Jesus to pray for those who cause harm, and forgive those who offend. Put everything in God’s hands. All your problems, big or small, can be solved only by the grace of God. Jesus, who suffered so much pain, knows your sufferings, sorrows and anxieties. Jesus invites you to share with him your burdens and pains.

It is better to suffer than to make others suffer. It is not easy to live with a broken and dejected heart, but it is much worse to live with a guilt-ridden conscience. Think for a moment how it would be to spend the rest of our lives thinking about the evil that we did to other people, the ruin that we have caused in their lives.

Love is the forgiveness of Christ, which besides healing our inner ailments, also restores our lives and gives us strength to love and forgive, even our enemies.

Ildefonso Torres