Angelus News | April 21, 2023 | Vol. 8 No

Forgiveness is risen from the grave
Throughout the
centuries, the
Resurrection has given
ordinary Christians
the ability to do the
impossible: forgive
their enemies.
BY MIKE AQUILINA
Want to celebrate Easter in
the best possible way?
Forgive someone. Let go
of a grievance.
Think of those who have wronged
you most — the people whose
memory fills you with anger. Maybe
you haven’t seen them in many years.
Maybe they’re no longer alive. But try
this during the Easter celebrations:
Pray for them. Tell God you’ve forgiven
them and you’d like to be free of
the anger and hurt.
A great bishop of the fifth century,
St. John Chrysostom, preached on
Easter that “forgiveness has risen
from the grave!”
The Resurrection unleashed phenomenal
cosmic powers, and one of
them was the power to forgive. Until
then, it had been widely acknowledged
to be humanly impossible.
Think of the scribes who saw Jesus
forgive the sins of a paralyzed man.
They said, “Why does this man speak
thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive
sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).
They were educated men, and their
study of the Hebrew Scriptures might
have confirmed them in the belief
that only God could forgive. The
Book of Genesis speaks of forgiveness
only once — in the episode when
Jacob’s sons lie to Joseph by claiming
that their late father had wanted him
to forgive them (Genesis 50:16–17).
We’re told that “Joseph wept” when
he heard this, possibly because the
“The Resurrection,” c. 1562-63, by Philips Galle. | THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
task seemed too difficult, even for a
man renowned for virtue.
Even St. Peter seemed to be looking
for a loophole when he asked Jesus,
“Lord, how often shall my brother
sin against me, and I forgive him?
As many as seven times?” (Matthew
18:21). The chief apostle wanted to
10 • ANGELUS • April 21, 2023