Suffering With Joy

Miracles of Forgiveness

September 6, 2010

Ever since I read Imaculeé Ilibagiza’s two books on surviving the 1994 Rwandan genocide a couple of weeks ago I have pondered the many lessons contained in them, most especially the problem of truly forgiving those who have wronged us. Outside of the fact that hatred, resentment and vengeful feelings can wreak havoc on body chemistry leading to all kinds of physical problems, keeping ill-will stoked up slowly poisons the soul.

Is there anyone among us who has not struggled with forgiveness? We all know that Jesus asked His Father to to forgive His executioners “for they know not what they do” in Luke 23:34, setting the example for us. Why, then, is it so hard to follow? What do we need to do to adopt the spirit of Christ in His extremity?

Ilibagiza’s book Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide gives us a powerful example of the miracles forgiveness brings to our lives.  In fact, after reading this book I thought of all the resentments I’ve nurtured at various times in my life and was ashamed for wasting time on them rather than devoting that time to more enjoyable things, especially in comparison to the wrongs Ilibagiza suffered and forgave. Yet emotions can hold a strong sway over our actions and thoughts, sometimes to the point of obsession. What is the answer?  We find in Led by Faith many secrets of forgiveness.

Without giving away too much of what she writes, I will highlight a few points that impressed me.  First, the Hutus shot her father in the back a few days after they hacked her mother to death with machetes.  Her two brothers were also gruesomely murdered as were her uncles and cousins and some aunts.  She knew nothing of their deaths because she was in hiding along with some other Tutsi women in a very tiny bathroom for the three months of  the genocide. The killers were fellow villagers who had been friends, visited their house and shared meals with the family. Some of the killers had been helped by her parents in many ways, yet it made no difference.  It was Hutus against Tutsis with the Hutu majority of 9 million against the Tutsi population of one million.  The politics of the situation is covered in Ilibagiza’s book Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust and I highly recommend reading it as well for the spiritual aspect of coping with politics.

Second, it was in that tiny bathroom where a couple of the women literally had to sit on top of one another and each had to take turns standing to stretch, that Ilibagiza heard the killers calling her by name in the dark of night.  For the three months of their sequestration the women could not speak, only communicating with sign language so that no one else in the house would know that they were there.  A mere slip could result in revealing their hiding place.  In that case, both the kind minister, who was Hutu and owned the house, and they, would be killed by the roving bands of killers. They lived with little sunlight, often having no food for days, infested with body lice, and hunted daily.  Several times the house was raided in the night, but their hiding place was never found.

Third, it was how Ilibagiza spent her time in this prison that made all the difference. Not knowing what happened to her family, she prayed her rosary for them and for all the killers.  God gave her the grace to enter into a state of deep prayer for hours at a time while she concentrated on forgiving everyone who had ever wronged her, and all the killers of her fellow countrymen.  She often thought of Jesus forgiving from the cross.

God also showed Imaculeé the truth that we are all His children, that He loves all, even when some are doing unimaginable evil.  She saw in real terms that people God loves can turn their hearts over to the devil and only His love can turn them back. She saw that she must live this truth entirely by allowing God to reveal His love through her, never returning hate for hate.  She developed a deep trust in God, without which forgiveness is impossible.

Fourth, in the state of almost constant prayerfulness, God inspired her to ask the minister to place his large wardrobe in front of the bathroom door by showing her a glowing cross on the door no one else could see.  Ilibagiza understood that if the door was blocked they would be safe, and indeed it proved to be so. When the Hutu broke in a couple of times and ransacked the bedroom, they never thought to move the wardrobe and so never found the bathroom door even though they moved furniture in other rooms they searched.  Those times, only the narrow wall of the house separated the women from death.

Fifth, some time after the genocide was over and a new government in place, Ilibagiza went to the prison where her father’s killer was incarcerated.  He was in terrible condition because the Hutu killers were being drastically punished even before their trials.  She took his hands in hers and looking into his eyes she said, “I forgive you.” Other Tutsis could not understand how she could do this and were angry with her.  Ilibagiza knew, however, that God saved her from death for the purpose of carrying His message of forgiveness all over the world.  She had to start by forgiving the grievous wrong done her by a man she and her family knew.

I won’t tell of all the other miracles God worked for Imaculeé because I don’t want to spoil a good read.  Let’s just say they were many and came about because many times in prayer she forgave again and again everyone who had harmed her, part of her quest to make sure she had an absolutely clean heart before God.

Forgiveness in our hearts is a path to miracles in our lives. Jesus had a reason for including in the Our Father, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”.  God blesses the forgiving and merciful in ways impossible to imagine.  With simple faith, let us imitate Christ and Ilibagiza and start forgiving those close to us who have hurt us, the political leaders who are damaging us personally and our country, the businesses which are ruining our health and destroying our food sources, and the religious ideologues who want to enslave us. Pray for the grace to do this and keep on praying no matter how long it takes.

Both of Ilibagiza’s books are available through my Amazon store.  Just click on the “store” tab at the top of the page and go to the end of the “Blessed Virgin Mary” category.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: trust in God

4 Comments to Miracles of Forgiveness

1. 

   What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it. I’m not sure that I could forgive in the way that she has done, it’s the making of a saint to be sure!
Anne on September 12th, 2010
2. 

   I think it is very hard to forgive in these and many other circumstances. To be able to forgive is really a grace from God we must ask for. Some times it takes awhile before we get it, but if we keep asking, He will grant it.
barb on September 12th, 2010
3. 

   Wow. I have tears in my eyes just reading this review. I can’t imagine going through what Imaculeé went through and then forgiving those who caused such suffering.

   It truly takes a miracle from God to be able to forgive as she has.
Carol@simple_catholic on September 12th, 2010
4. 

   Carol, thanks for visiting. Her books have given me much to meditate on regarding forgiveness and trust in God. Only God can get us through the most terrifying moments of our lives and come out of them in peace. Imaculeé’s example is for all of us.
barb on September 13th, 2010