It is sometimes so difficult to forgive ourselves. We understand that we are forgiven when we come to the Lord with a contrite heart in His beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation. And yet, we have such a hard time forgiving ourselves.

Not only do we not forgive ourselves, but we fail to move on; sticking solidly in the thick sticky puddle of our past mistakes and sins.

We let our past define who we are and we allow it to keep us from becoming who we wish to become.

This is wrong. This is not like God.

Scripture tells us that not only does our heavenly Father forgive our sins, but He forgets them, as well; so that when we are bathed in the mercy and forgiveness of the blood of Christ...it is as though our sins have never happened...

Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 31:34, and Hebrews 8:12

This is very different than if God were to "hang on to them" in memory so-to-speak...and merely "overlook" them.

He, being a perfectly forgiving and loving God, erases our sins from His memory.

We must try to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Have you ever been ready to re-commit yourself to a certain pledge or change of life that you are wanting to make for your good and for the glory of God, only to stop and hesitate because you have failed at that very thing so many times in life and are fearful that you will only "let God down" again. And so, rather than forging ahead and re-surrendering yourself...you do nothing?

This a tool of the enemy. He is well-aware that there is no neutrality in our Christian journey. We are, at every moment, either moving closer to God and heaven or further away. Thus, when he knows that ours is a soul that will not go back to its old and sinful ways...he uses his wiles and snares to make the memory of those ways so intimidating to us and so threatening, that we get stuck.

We don't move at all. We are paralyzed. We doubt ourselves.

The enemy whispers his pathetic ploys to us, saying, "You fool...why do you think this time will be any different than the last? You will only fail again. So why are you even trying?"

We are duped. We are frozen. We want, so much, to keep moving forward, but it is as though our feet are stuck in quick-sand.

He knows we won't go "backward" and so the only hope he has left is to keep us from going forward, as well!

With Advent, the beautiful season of preparation, almost upon us, let us ready our hearts for the coming celebration of Christ's birth by freeing ourselves from our pasts.

Let we,who are made in the image and likeness of God, strive to be more like Him when it comes to forgiving...and forgetting...our own sins.

Copyright 2011 Judy Dudich