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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Father
Dennis Corrado, CO, offers a blessing on the final night of the Advent
parish mission at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Carmel. (Photo provided) |
From Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish
CARMEL — Forgiveness leads to great joy, but lack of forgiveness diminishes life, said Father Dennis Corrado, CO, who led this year’s Advent parish mission at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church.
More than 1,000 parishioners came to hear Father Corrado’s messages on Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
The power of words can transform and inspire, Father Corrado said, but it can also injure, hurt and destroy.
He pointed to a growing trend in society to respond with sarcasm in relationships, to make jokes at the expense of another’s feelings.
“When you can laugh at others and only at others, there is nothing sacred,” he said.
Something said in a moment can have a painfully lasting and often unexpected outcome, Father Corrado said.
With humor, love and a degree of sadness, he drew on examples from his life to illustrate how something meant to be funny caused long-lasting rifts in extended family relationships.
A relationship may be hurt by what is said, Father Corrado added, but the damage is amplified when a person is unable to let go of the pain, forgive the person who caused it, and move forward.
“Forgiveness is not approval,” he said. It is not saying a wrong was right or should continue; it is letting go of the hurt and anger and recognizing that all are human and make mistakes.
“Prayer is absolutely essential for us to live lives of forgiveness,” he said. “Forgiveness is a life process. Forgiving someone once and for all doesn’t work.”
He pointed to Scripture, where Jesus said people must forgive “seven times seventy.”
The outcome of forgiveness is joy, Father Corrado said.
“Joy is the inner sense of balance in which you know in the best of times and the worst of times that you will be okay,” he said.
He gave a list of practical ways to develop more joy:
• Develop a short memory. He quoted the poet Robert Browning — “It’s good to forgive; it’s best to forget,” and Pope John XXIII — “See everything, overlook a great deal, correct a little.”
• Keep learning, growing and expanding, especially in knowledge of our faith.
• Be a good friend.
• Thank someone who has enriched your life.
• Count your blessings.
• Look for the humor in daily events.
• Be flexible.
• Deepen your faith.
• Make peace with your life and try to let go of regrets.
• Celebrate the fact that God has blessed you with faith.
Father Corrado is the founder/provincial superior of the Oratorian Fathers and Brothers of St. Philip Neri, the Saint of Joy, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He has preached in 15 states and foreign countries and holds graduate degrees in theology, religious education and communications.