FORGIVING FROM THE HEART-In today’s Gospel Jesus instructs us to forgive from our heart reminding us that forgiveness is a head thing as well as a heart thing. Announcing to ourself that we forgive a person is only part of the process. The second part, forgiving from our heart means we have to stop the feelings that angered us. That’s less easy. When someone hurts us it’s part of our human nature to roll around in that hurt; replaying it in our mind, maybe even making it bigger than it was. There is satisfaction in staying in that place. There can be a sense of justified victimhood and gleeful self pity. “Look at me. Look what happened to me. I am hurt. See my scar. Look what I survived.” When we dwell on the hurt, when we pick the emotional scab, we are slowing down the forgiveness and healing process and hurting ourselves in the end. It’s like opening a slow cooker. Each time you do, you add a half hour to the cooking time. Each time you replay the hurt in your mind, you add healing time and you spend longer feeling bad. The only answer lies with Jesus. When we show him our wound and tell him how it is bothering us, he helps us. Fully forgiving someone from the heart is only possible with the help of our Lord. The memories that we replay in our mind have so much power, they are like scars on our heart. But if we give it to Jesus and take the time needed for healing, it will happen and we will forgive as he asks us to. We will also avoid scars that prevent us from loving. We will forgive with and from a heart that is centered on Jesus. But  first we need to go to him. He is waiting.