March 14, 2022
Having Christ’s Merciful Vision
If I am still not a saint, it is because my way of looking at things is so different from yours, Lord. When a sinner is not reconciled with you, Lord, you nevertheless continue to love and call that sinner to repentance. When a sinner repents and comes back to the Father’s house, you look on him or her as an entirely new person – as if nothing had ever happened. When the converted sinner lives in your peace, you forget everything, Lord. You have clensed everything in your blood and nothing remains of the past. Henceforth, there exists only communion, esteem, and trust. I listen to you, Lord, when you tell me:
“Forget your brothers and sisters’ past. If you base your relationships on the past, then you will be mistaken: you or them? You will be the one in the wrong for not having forgiven. You want to know everyone’s curriculum vitae, and that is why, little by little, communion is broken. I want to open the door wide to them, but you insist on keeping it closed. I want to forgive them, but you insist on condemning them. How different my way of seeing is from yours! Rejoice, because your brother was dead. Now he is alive.”
Lord, I can never exhaust the meaning of these words. I can only kneel before you and thank you for your love.
VENERABLE FRANCIS XAVIER NGUYEN VAN THUAN
Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan (+ 2002) was imprisoned by the Vietnamese government for thirteen years, during which time he secretly sent prayers and spiritual writings to his flock.
