"I Forgave And I Forgot"

I came across this recently and thought I might share it with you: it is actual footage of the assassination attempt on Blessed Paul VI during his apostolic journey to the Philippines in 1970. Today is the anniversary of the attempt. 

I note with interest how Blessed Paul responded to it: "I forgave and I forgot". That response would answer a question I am often asked by people struggling with wrongs done to them: "If I forgive, do I have to forget?" Yes, we do, although we also need to be wise and prudent.

The relic presented to the Holy Father during Paul's beatification ceremony was the vest he wore on that day stained with the blood he shed from the assassination attempt.

Time To Forgive

A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say.  In terms of Irish and British history this photograph is of momentous importance.  The former IRA man, now Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, shakes hands and greets Queen Elizabeth II.  Ten, twenty, thirty years ago this would have been impossible.  The Queen of England was seen as the enemy by many in Northern Ireland, and Martin McGuinness and his colleagues were regarded as terrorists in the UK, their voices banned from the airwaves. 

Many in Northern Ireland are delighted: without renouncing their hopes for the future of Northern Ireland, whatever they may be, they see this moment as one in which the peace and reconciliation they seek may well become a lasting reality for them.  Others are furious - a small group of extreme Republicans who still set their hearts on bombing the British off the island of Ireland.  And no doubt there are people who are hurt (Nationalists, Republicans, Loyalists) whose relations have been killed in the dreadful conflict which cast a shadow over our two countries.  

Queen Elizabeth has cause to among those who were hurt - her cousin Lord Mountbatten was killed in the conflict, blown up on his boat off the coast of Sligo.  Lord Mountbatten regularly visited the Republic - he loved the country and our people.  In this photograph note Mountbatten's nephew, Prince Philip, stands behind his wife - he adored his uncle, and yet here he is smiling and waiting his turn to shake Martin McGuinness's hand. 

I think there is a lesson in forgiveness here for all of us.  I realise that no one community can claim superiority in terms of loss and victims in the conflict in Northern Ireland - they have all suffered. Too much blood has been spilled: there are other ways to resolve differences and as Christians we should all look to Jesus Christ and follow him and his teachings as we look for a way forward.

Creeping Vengeance

Last night I watched James Watkins’s The Woman in Black with a friend.  It was our second viewing of the movie as we both saw it first in the cinema: it has just been released on DVD.   That first viewing was an ordeal because, hats off to Watkins and his team, it is a scary movie, and it certainly holds the tension and scares with the second viewing. 

If you do not know the movie: it is an adaptation of Susan Hill’s Gothic novel about a vengeful ghost haunting a community.  It is also a successful stage play in the West End and apparently an evening out at that play is not good for the nerves – the stage directors have managed to keep the tension.  The movie stars Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, who is quite good, and our own Ciaran Hinds who is excellent.  Jane Goldman, wife of Jonathan Ross adapted the screenplay from the novel and she did a marvellous job.

If you like scary movies then get this one and watch it in the dark!  If you find saying the Rosary hard, you’ll overcome any difficulties by the time the night is out.  What is really good about this movie is that it works – it does not fall flat at the end as many horror movies do.  It is also a traditional Gothic horror, it’s not a slasher movie, a genre which has come to dominate since the 1960s or so: it’s a good old ghost story.  And it lingers long after you have turned off the DVD player.   That is the sign of a good ghost story.

Why am I writing about a ghostly movie?  Well, the theme is interesting – it is all about vengeance.  Now it is not The Grudge, a Japanese flick that left me cold when I saw it, although The Woman in Black does have that oriental ghost story feel to it.  I’ll try not to spoil it for you, but I need to tell you something about the plot in order to reflect on the lesson the movie teaches.  If you want to see the movie without any idea of the plot then stop reading, come back later when you’ve watched it.

The story concerns a young solicitor, Arthur Kipps, widowed and raising a four year old son.  He cannot get over the death of his wife and his work is being affected.  He is on his last chance and so is sent to an eerie coastal village to sort out the will and papers of a recently deceased client.  Arriving in the village he is shunned.  When he arrives at the deceased woman's house, Eel Marsh House, he finds a creepy pile with lots of dark corridors and spectral secrets – you know the score.  While there he sees a woman dressed in black and she starts appearing in the shadows scaring the living daylights out of you!  Soon children in the village start dying in dreadful circumstances.  Her story is simple: her son has died tragically and she took her own life, now she is wrecking vengeance on all and sundry by luring their children to their deaths.

Now it’s not exactly Alice in Wonderland, although to be honest there some dark characters in that story too, but it is an interesting reflection on vengeance.  Here we have a woman who is so possessed by a vengeful spirit she haunts her home and local village, she cannot rest but must bring destruction and misfortune on others.  At the end of the movie you realise that the one who suffers the most and has been completely destroyed by this vengeance is the woman in black herself.

In our Gospel today we had Our Lord’s teaching on prayer, and he gives us the Our Father.  In that prayer we pray “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.  Forgiveness is a vital part of Christianity – the first word from the Cross was Jesus’ forgiving those who were responsible for his death (i.e. all of us!).  It can be difficult to forgive, but we must do everything we can to do so because if we don’t we will end up seeking vengeance and that will destroy us. 

I remember listening to a woman whose child was killed by another. She refused to forgive and so twenty years later she was still in the first flush of grief and bitter, very bitter.  Her whole life had stopped, she could move on nor look to those around her: her anger had become hatred and though the killers were doing life, it was not enough for her: she demanded a greater retribution.  She had no peace and she thought that in “making them pay” she would find it.  But she wouldn’t.  That peace could only be found in forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not deny justice, it enhances it.  Forgiveness proceeds from mercy, mercy we all need, and only mercy can bring peace to our souls when we have been offended. To be able to let go (which does not deny what happened, nor let people off the hook) is a must if we want to be healed of the wounds others have inflicted on us.  In letting go, in forgiving, we give ourselves a chance of life, of being set free of a chain which could drag us down into the depths of despair.  Forgiveness also paves the way for reconciliation and while that might be difficult, perhaps unheard of to a soul that has been hurt, it is the path Our Lord asks us to walk with him.  The example of Assunta Goretti, the mother of St Maria Goretti, is one we should reflect on. 

The woman in black was a ghost, but she need not have been: her spectral wandering and desire for vengeance can happen to any one of us if we refuse to forgive from our heart.  We will need God’s grace to do, but it is there for the asking.

And in case any of you are wondering: do ghosts exist?  Does Fr John believe in ghosts?  Yes, I do: as a priest I have seen and heard of too many things not to.  As to what they are, I’m not sure.  The demonic presences and figures are easily explained, and they can afflict people and places.  As to the non-demonic – well they could be souls doing their purgatory here on earth, or the souls of the damned or, perhaps in some way, souls of the deceased who have resisted God’s call to leave this life and are hanging on – perhaps God permits it for a reason.  I don’t know.  But what I do know is that we pray for such souls.

So next time you see a ghost pray for them, have Mass offered for them – they could have appeared to you so you would remember them in prayer.  In the meantime, don’t be fixated it can become unhealthy.  Enjoy the movie, and then turn it off and say a Rosary – you might need it……

The Story So Far...

The moment of reconciliation

Last night we had our Film Club in Dublin,  a small crowd turned up, probably because of the state of the city - it is very difficult to get around at times with the security which has been put in place for the Queen of England's state visit.  Thankfully I got my car to my usual parking lot - opposite the Pro-Cathedral (where else!). 

As I was driving gingerly through the city I could see some of those protesting against the visit and the hundreds of gardai who were, successfully thank God, keeping them under control.  To be honest, many of these protestors, from what I saw, did not look like they would be the type to be politically motivated, if you get my drift.  Talking with a friend I met on O'Connell Street, she said it was as if someone had gathered up a busload of ne'er do wells and brought them in to create a bit of trouble.

That said, the state visit is going very well.  I got to see some of it on TV and I was impressed, most particularly with the way the government have organised the whole affair. The state ceremonies were conducted with great nobility and expertise.  They say that when it come to such things the Vatican and Britain outshine everyone else, that is true, but Ireland was just as good yesterday.

For us Irish the most poignant event yesterday was the Queen's laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance.  For those who do not know Irish history this ceremony may seem pedestrian, but not so - it was an historic moment, one which should be of great healing between our two countries. 

The Garden of Remembrance is the national monument in memory of all those who died for Irish freedom - those who perished at the hands of the British.  For a British monarch to lay a wreath and bow her head to honour these people was a courageous act.  This, as one commenter said yesterday, is even greater than an apology.  Unfortunately the meaning was lost on many protestors who, it seems, are not willing to give any ground, or even seek reconciliation.   While our history is complex, we in Ireland should not forget that here are British people who themselves hold legitimate grievances against us - we do not hold the high moral ground no more than Britain does: there were wrongs on both sides.  This is something Irish Republicanism needs to acknowledge.

The first word Christ uttered from the cross was "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do".  As his followers we are to understand from this that not only do we forgive, but we seek to do so at the earliest opportunity - immediately even, if possible, while we are being offended.  Forgiveness must become second nature to us.  Forgiveness brings true healing and a new beginning.  As we forgive, we are aware that we too need forgiveness for the wrongs we have done, and so the Lord's Prayer acts serves to remind us of that, making the forgiveness we need conditional on that we extend to others: "Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us".  If Ireland is a Christian country, that should colour the events of these days.  But of course Ireland is losing its Christianity, and as it does so, it will lose its nobility.  There was little nobility in the protesting I witnessed yesterday on the streets and on the TV.

There Is No Forgiveness For Them

Related to a post I wrote last week on the feast of Blessed Edmund Rice,  I see an article in the Catholic Herald on the future of the Christian Brothers.  The Superior, Br Philip Pinto says the future looks bleak, and financially they are broke.    Some of the comments in the combox are interesting. I presume they are written by Christians, though by the attitude there seems to be little Christianity in any of them.  One commenter puts it well -

By what I see from the comments, that this order has done nothing good at all. Then this order should be put down/disbanded because it seem that the sin of some is the sin of all. Yes, there is no forgiveness for them. They have betrayed the trust of the people and the faith, we never sinned at all, that's why we should hurl rocks at them... Remember... Jesus came down, much for the sinner than for the just.

That hits the nail on the head.  There is so much self-righteousness out there, there is no mercy.  I see the same with the reaction to the Mass for Osama bin Laden - it appears we must all consign him to hell.  Yet, if we remember what the Lord teaches us in the Gospel, and even in the prayer he taught us:  "Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us."  God's mercy is conditional  - it will be given on the condition we forgive others "from the heart".  Many of us seem to forget that.  But we need to take that seriously, our salvation, literally, depends on it.

That said, with regard to the Christian Brothers and the abuse crisis in general, I agree with Baroness Nuala O'Loan.  The Catholic Church is a scapegoat for a greater problem in Irish society, and in the world in general.  The vast amount of abuse is committed by the non-celibate, by the laity, yet to point that out is to bring condemnation on your head.  At the moment society is not willing to hear that fact, perhaps because, among other things, there are many in society who want to distract attention from their crimes and concentrating on the Church takes the heat off them.  But it also means that their victims are forced into silence: they are the silent majority who suffer abuse and neither governement nor media are interested because it is too dangerous for either party to try and scratch the surface of that problem.  There are a number of reasons for that, and I suspect one of them may be that when you start looking you never know who you will find among the guilty. 

No doubt you have read it already, but Archbishop Timothy Dolan's airport encounter is worth reading with regard to this.