Scripture:
Reflection:
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
“Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” -Acts 16:28-30
“Forgive Everybody, Everything” (2022) is the title of Fr. Greg Boyle’s latest book. Fr. Greg is a Jesuit, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles and on May 3 of this year received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. I wonder if that means I must forgive the window company that made and installed the windows in my condo? My bedroom window has needed more attention than I have ever given to any window, and it is still broken. Most windows, get my attention twice a year and that is about it. This one, I had to replace the upper window a couple of years ago—it’s a double hung window. Then, last Fall while trying to wash it, I broke the outer pane of the double-glazed pane. I figured it was too late to have it replaced, so I jerry-rigged it with insulation stuffed wherever possible and we survived the winter. Now, it’s time to deal with it, get it off my mind, and to normalize my relationship with that no-good, window company that made it.
Having read Boyle’s book as well as meeting him last summer at a talk he gave in nearby Oak Park, Illinois, I decided to forgive the company and the window. I called the company, sought their guidance on how best to handle this rogue window. They sent a man out who in no time repaired the movement of the window, took the measurements, and promised to deliver a replacement in a week. He also, took the measurements of another window whose seal had broken and will give a quote to replace that. All this goes to say, I have forgiven myself for my own stubbornness, the window company and now with a little bit of luck, with these actions, the window and the company will no longer live rent free in my mind.
God, thank you for Paul’s sharing of his experiences with life and the sometimes very vexing, as well as not so vexing situations, life presents. Help me follow Fr. Boyle’s and Silas’ and Paul’s great example of forgiving and getting on with the day’s activities.
Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists. He lives in Chicago.