I must remember this

I like Yom Kippur. Atonement and repentance. As a Christian, I know I don't observe it the way my Jewish friends do (for example, I prayed about it this morning for less than an hour instead of a formal observation beginning Tuesday night). But while I regularly ask God to "forgive me my trespasses," it's important to recognize my shortcomings, own them, and forgive myself, too. Just as I must use my power of love and forgiveness to let others off the hook. (This doesn't mean letting them back in my life, it means letting go of the anger and blame.) This prayer also has an even greater impact as I consider my family in my new, post-Mom world.

I'm posting the Litany of Atonement so I can revisit it.

For remaining silent when a single voice would have made a difference, we forgive ourselves and each other other; we begin again in love.

 

For each time that our fears have made us rigid and inaccessible, we forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.
 
For each time that we have struck out in anger without just cause, we forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.

For each time that our greed has blinded us to the needs of others, we forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.

For the selfishness which sets us apart and alone, we forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.

For those and for so many acts both evident and subtle which have fueled the illusion of separateness, we forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.