In which I forgive Aught against Any (Sigh) | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Thoughts on Writing my Just-published Memoir, & the Prologue to “Rosaries, Reading, Secrets”

Anita Mathias — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 17:30:44 +0000

Writing a memoir awakens fierce memories of the past. For the past is not dead; it’s not even past, as William Faulkner observed. So what does one do with this undead past? Forgive. Forgive, huh? Forgive. Let it go. Again and again. For, after all, this world is one of insistent goodness, insistent abundance. Flowers […]

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God can Extract Gold from the Griefs of the Past

Anita Mathias — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:17:13 +0000

There is always another one walking beside you T.S. Eliot Wasteland Emmaus, by Slovenian Jesuit Marco Rupnik from HolyArt.com So, the new “Great Books” book group I’ve got together (we’re steadily reading chronologically through the Classics!) read the ancient Greek trilogy The Oresteia last week. The plot: Orestes avenges the murder of his father […]

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On the Surprising Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Forgiveness

Anita Mathias — Wed, 18 May 2016 09:26:48 +0000

Image Credit Because of common grace, secular researchers and psychologists can offer us trenchant insights on the spiritual life. I have long been interested in forgiveness (particularly HOW we do it) because it is one of the fundamental practices of Christ-followers (Jesus wants us to do it every time we pray!!) and because I do […]

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On How Elephants Can Escape Their Chains, and We Can Too

Anita Mathias — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:26:08 +0000

Elephants, majestic, loveable, gentle beasts, are tamed by cruel means I hate reading about in Thailand, principally, in Nepal, in India and in Malaysia. A common trick, less cruel than the others though, is this. The elephant is initially chained to a tree with heavy chains. Later, however, the mahouts don’t bother to attach the […]

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On Forgiveness and Creativity: A Personal Experience of the Link

Anita Mathias — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 21:11:48 +0000

Leafing through past journals, I see that, six years ago, I was stuck. I had spent four years establishing a business, probably the one thing in my life which worked better “than I had asked or dreamed of asking” (something I now pray for my writing!!) But creatively and spiritually, I was stuck. I missed […]

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The Best Way to Forgive–Bend in the Opposite Direction

Anita Mathias — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 22:45:05 +0000

Image Credit Penelope Swithinbank, an Anglican spiritual director and retreat leader, once told me an excellent way to get over the hump of forgiveness. Like many people, I can struggle to forgive for years, for decades, re-injuring myself in the process–so much so that I am included to think of forgiveness as a miracle God […]

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Forgive, but Remember Graciously. With the Wisdom of a Serpent & Gentleness of a Dove

Anita Mathias — Mon, 26 May 2014 08:42:10 +0000

Woodcut by Gustave Dore I am reading through The Book of Genesis. Joseph’s ten older brothers hated him. Of course, they did. The favourite son with the ornamented robe, who told tales on them, to whom they bowed in their dreams–dreams they uneasily sensed were prescient. Eight brothers wanted to kill him. Reuben suggested throwing […]

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How Forgiveness Unlocks the Goodness of Life: A Guest Post by Carmel Thomason

Anita Mathias — Sun, 16 Feb 2014 18:27:14 +0000

As a journalist I meet all kinds of people. I usually want to make people look their best. Sometimes it’s harder, because some people don’t help themselves. They’ve already decided all journalists are sour people who want to focus on the worst aspects of life. There are people who make it clear that they don’t […]

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On How Forgiveness Sets Us as Free as a Falcon

Anita Mathias — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:10:02 +0000

The captive falcon soars, riding the winds, reaching for the clouds, until she reaches the limits of her leash. And then, at the will of the falconer, she is reeled down. Earthbound! The wild eagle, however, soars high, and higher still, effortlessly, soaring on thermal currents, using even obstruction currents to rise higher. * * […]

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The Mental Habit That’s Worth a Trillion Dollars

Anita Mathias — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 09:17:09 +0000

Grace and Forgiveness I heard Carol Arnott say that her book Grace and Forgiveness is worth a trillion dollars. Hyperbole, of course, but (Jesus, forgive this crassness!!) if I were to monetize it, learning and practising forgiveness would easily be worth well over £100,000, perhaps £500,000 in a lifetime. No, more! Speculative, of course, but that’s […]

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