(HALF) BROTHER AND THE RAGING NANAY
Nanay
was a tough woman. A true-blooded disciplinarian. Strict and
straightforward. Hers was the only voice we would obey in the house. I
have a half-brother, who is as old as I am and almost looks like me but
looks exactly like Tatay. Nanay knew about him but would rather not talk
about the issue. My siblings and I would go out with him in secret,
lest we catch her ire. He and his mother were Nanay’s enemies. Until she
attended the Catholic Life in the Spirit Seminar and joined a local
Charismatic community. She mellowed down.
Then one day, my half-brother decided to pay me a visit in my parish. I
was out. Nanay was there. Tatay was there. Tatay introduced them to
each other. My half-brother told them about his forthcoming wedding.
Consequently, Nanay required all my siblings to attend the wedding of
our brother (no longer half-brother). She also did. Face to face with
the other woman, she initiated an exchange of pleasantries. Later on, at
the baptism of my brother’s son, Nanay was the doting mother who
entertained the guests and supervised the food. She had learned to love
her enemies. When Nanay died, the first floral arrangement came from this brother of mine with the words, “Alaala ng Anak, Manugang at mga Apo.”
I credit Nanay’s change of heart to the new life in the Spirit she
received. But more than this, she discovered the liberating effect of
forgiveness. While it is easier and fulfilling to get even, there is untold joy in being able to “love your enemies and pray for your persecutors.” The challenge is to love those for whom we harbor ill feelings and who are most difficult to love, accept and forgive. Doing so makes us true children of the Father.
A friend once asked me why she always seems to cross paths with a
person she hates. The more that she wishes to avoid her, the more she
would accidentally meet her. I told her it’s God who makes them meet —
for them to make time for forgiveness and for old wounds to be healed. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS
REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you experienced the liberating effect of forgiving another person unconditionally?
Lord Jesus, touch my heart and soften it so that I may learn to forgive.
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