St. Paul Roman Catholic Parish issued the following announcement on Sept. 6

The 1994 Rwandan genocide left the citizens of the country with many lessons. Rwanda is a country located in East Africa, with a population of 12.3 million as of 2018. A survey after the war reported that about 800,000 died during the war. The government that succeeded was led by Paul Kagame, who wanted the citizens to reconcile their differences. Therefore, reconciliatory commissions were set up across the country. These commissions aimed at bringing the perpetrators of killings and their victims together, for healing going into the future. Ann-Marie Uwimana, wasone of the traumatized, having lost her husband and four children during the genocide. A man named Celestin, one of the perpetrators of the dastardly act that took her family, found his way back to the same community with Ann-Marie. Although her world was shattered, the Parish Priest spoke to Anne Marie about the need to forgive her offenders, in order to heal completely. “The inability to forgive is like cancer, it eats you from the inside,” noted a mother whose sixteen-year-old son was shot by a triggercrazy gunman. Ann-Marie did forgive Celestin and started a friendship with him of sharing meals, faith and other challenges. The dynamics of forgiveness are transformative which leads to eternal peace.

The God in the Old Testament is a forgiving Creator, and a Father: His encounter with Adam and Eve leaves us with a Father who tolerated their disobedience. And He further opened new opportunities for humanity, in order not to be condemned by original sin. This is the reason why God sends priests, kings, and prophets to reconcile the gap between Him and His chosen ones. “Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says Yahweh Sabaoth” (Malachi 3:1-2).

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfills the law and the prophets as the Old Testament foretold. It is about the love of God and His unmerited mercy upon humanity in this troubled world. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the bridge to our Father, Creator. His cross is a symbol of triumph and glory. To benefit from his suffering and sacrifice we have to come to him as the way, the truth and the life. Jesus Christ in his messages to St. Faustina Kowalska says, ‘When you go to confession, to this fountain of my mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from my Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself in my mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of my grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to my generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because my grace turns away from them toward the humble souls (Divine Mercy in My Soul; Retrieved 08/20/2020)

Original source can be found here.