Nineteenth Meditation
(The Way of Perfection, Chapter 36)

"But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven." (1)


Forgiven

The flow of Mercy's healing grace,
Is dammed up by the hardened heart,
Whose debts the Father can't efface,
Until judgements and grudges part.

The judgements of offense taken,
And grudges of injustice held,
Leave the heart cold and forsaken,
With wounds that infection have swelled.

The truth of self and one's own sins,
Break the heart with reality;
In repentance, healing begins -
The first fruits of humility.

Forgiveness yields peace and freedom,
Restores love for God and neighbor,
Prepares her heart for the Kingdom --
That His will may be done in her.

Her prayer for mercy draws His grace;
With trials, He prepares her place.

May the healing power of Mercy flow through us as we strive to forgive one another from the heart.