Radical Forgiveness

Pope John Paul II took a revolutionary step when he chose to forgive the man who tried to kill him. It is unfathomable for most people, including myself, to imagine forgiving a man who tried to kill you. Most people would live out their lives were pure hatred toward the attempted murderer; however, Pope John Paul II acted out the true message of Catholicism. He believed that if Jesus could forgive his killers, then we should all forgive those who hurt us, no matter what. Likewise, Immaculee took this important step when she forgave the murderers of her family. Immaculee found extreme difficulty in forgiving the murderers of her family, but she acted as Jesus did and forgave the killers. Immaculee could not even complete the Our Father for a long time because she couldn't admit to forgiving those who hurt her. Eventually, she found the strength, courage, and love within herself to forgive them. I think we all need to act as Immaculee and Pope John II did. We must forgive those who hurt us no matter what.

Messy World

Our world today is a messy place, filled with injustice. When I hear a story of injustice, I am instantly moved with pity.I admit that I, much like most people, feel bad about the situation, but unless it directly affects me, I do not always move to correct it.I think that what leads to some of the messiness is our lack to correct injustice when we hear about it happening.The Gospel messages tell us that we need to act when we see injustice. We must correct it no matter the consequence. We must love and protect each other. According to the article, we must fight to end injustice by the way we vote, how we pray, and the causes we choose to speak out against. We must take action, not only feel sorry for those being persecuted or killed.The article also talks about not becoming "desensitized." I think I am desensitized too and that is why I, along with many people, don't take action to correct injustice that seems distant from us. We live in a world that we hear about it so much that it somehow matters left. i think we need to treat every horrible injustice as it really is: a unique, horrible event that cannot continue. If we all shared that mentality, I think the world would be a less messy place.