Repentance....

Repentance is sometimes misunderstood as being fulfilled by words of contrition. Words of contrition are indeed significant when they reflect a fresh inner realization that a particular course of action was wrong, and when they are accompanied by a sincere vow not to repeat the sin. But that is only the first stage of repentance. The second stage, one far more efficacious, is to confess the sin to others, particularly a confession to the person who had been wronged. The humiliation and shame which accompanies confessing one's sin to another makes such repentance extremely serious, and laying one's sins out in the open is a powerful cathartic. The third stage of repentance is to make some substantial compensation for the past misdeed. This means to do penance or to make restitution to the person who had been wronged, or, if that is not possible, to someone else representing that person. Finally, repentance should result in an actual change of direction in the life of the penitent, as he endeavors to perform good deeds and eschew his former transgressions.

http://www.unification.net/ws/theme127.htm

In the recent storyline we have two individuals who appeared to be repentant and were given opportunities to make restitution. The nurse, who switched the babies, cried and begged NS for forgiveness and through circumstances was given an opportunity to make restitution – to correct the wrong she had done. She could have taken the baby to the police or contacted Saloni. But, instead she used the opportunity for her own selfish reasons. End result she was outsmarted by Jiji resulting in her death (similar to Kakisa trying to outsmart Jiji when she could have return the child to Tara).

Jiji in the recent encounter begged for forgiveness and was planning on doing repentance in an Ashram. She was forgiven because who can really tell what's in a person mind. She didn't deserve it but she played on Amrit's forgiving nature. She was given two opportunities to make retribution. She found Sawri and instead of returning the baby – kidnapped the baby. However, she was instrumental in dispensing justice to the nurse. She also gained the knowledge of Sawri parentage and instead of using it in a positive manner she is planning to utilize it for her own good. In her former encounters I don't believe she ever asked for forgiveness or made anyone believe she was repentent. Is justice about to be served?

I sometimes feel forgiveness is not really about the individual we are forgiving but it's about the individual that was wronged. All the literature talks about freeing yourself from the bondage of hatred/hold the individuals have on you.

It is possible to forgive someone and still call the police if he or she has broken the law. This might well be an act of kindness on your part. For the sake of their own growth, wrongdoers should face the consequences of their actions. Otherwise, how would they ever learn and grow to be better persons?

Forgiveness is not about setting conditions with all those "ifs" and "buts," it's unconditional. By setting conditions, we give power to our tormentors. When we leave that power with them, they can hurt us again. Forgiveness is really about empowering yourself and taking back the control of your life in your own hands.

Judyp you write very well.love to read ur posts.Keep posting.

Originally posted by: judyp

Repentance is sometimes misunderstood as being fulfilled by words of contrition. Words of contrition are indeed significant when they reflect a fresh inner realization that a particular course of action was wrong, and when they are accompanied by a sincere vow not to repeat the sin. But that is only the first stage of repentance. The second stage, one far more efficacious, is to confess the sin to others, particularly a confession to the person who had been wronged. The humiliation and shame which accompanies confessing one's sin to another makes such repentance extremely serious, and laying one's sins out in the open is a powerful cathartic. The third stage of repentance is to make some substantial compensation for the past misdeed. This means to do penance or to make restitution to the person who had been wronged, or, if that is not possible, to someone else representing that person. Finally, repentance should result in an actual change of direction in the life of the penitent, as he endeavors to perform good deeds and eschew his former transgressions.

http://www.unification.net/ws/theme127.htm

In the recent storyline we have two individuals who appeared to be repentant and were given opportunities to make restitution. The nurse, who switched the babies, cried and begged NS for forgiveness and through circumstances was given an opportunity to make restitution ' to correct the wrong she had done. She could have taken the baby to the police or contacted Saloni. But, instead she used the opportunity for her own selfish reasons. End result she was outsmarted by Jiji resulting in her death (similar to Kakisa trying to outsmart Jiji when she could have return the child to Tara).

Jiji in the recent encounter begged for forgiveness and was planning on doing repentance in an Ashram. She was forgiven because who can really tell what's in a person mind. She didn't deserve it but she played on Amrit's forgiving nature. She was given two opportunities to make retribution. She found Sawri and instead of returning the baby ' kidnapped the baby. However, she was instrumental in dispensing justice to the nurse. She also gained the knowledge of Sawri parentage and instead of using it in a positive manner she is planning to utilize it for her own good. In her former encounters I don't believe she ever asked for forgiveness or made anyone believe she was repentent. Is justice about to be served?