Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Forgiveness by Christine Peloquin (click on image for larger version)

A recent post on the sacrament of reconciliation prompted a number of comments. This passage from J-Ruth Gendler images forgiveness in the feminine - and beautifully so. Peloquin's image of forgiveness pairs well with the text below. What draws me to Gendler's description is her tactile understanding of forgiveness. There are those who prefer to seek forgiveness while alone in God's presence. Gendler's forgiveness is human, "earthy and direct," coming with tokens, outward signs, of pardon and peace.

Forgiveness is a strong woman,
tender and earthy and direct.

Since her children have left home,
she has embarked on an extended walking tour,
vising ruins and old monuments,
bathing in rivers and hot springs,
traveling through small towns and large pulsing cities,
tracing the current of sorrow under the stories she hears.

Sometimes
the city authorities don't want her within their gates.
If the people want her there enough,
she always manages to find a way inside.

Forgiveness brings gifts wherever she goes.
Simple ones,
a three-stranded twig with leaves turning yellow,
a belt she wove on an inkle loom,
a little song that grows inside you
and changes everything.

She brought me a silver ring from the South
with a pale stone, pink with a hint of brown.
When I had asthma, she taught me how to breathe.

- by J-Ruth Gendler in The Book of Qualities