By: Brigid Curtis Ayer
Carmel — Forgiveness is something Christians are called to do. When Jesus was asked how often must a person forgive, his answer– “70 times seven.” Scripture scholars do not surmise the answer is 490, but rather that Jesus wants us to forgive a lot, or some suggest, infinitely.
But when a person is wounded by another, sometimes forgiveness doesn’t come easy said Eric Gudan, Ph.D. in Psychology, during a recent, presentation at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on the topic of Finding Healing Through Forgiveness.
As the presentation title suggests, when a person forgives, they are set free from the mental and physical toll that unforgiveness causes. Gudan, a licensed clinical psychologist and health service provider at Integritas Psychological Services in Indianapolis, said that in therapy, the goal is to remove impediments to having authentic relationships.
Gudan provided a road map for the group to navigate forgiveness including a four-phase model. He said a large part of his work involves helping people forgive others and recover from the wounds they have incurred. Gudan offered a quote to reflect on from Pope Francis.