“Miracle on the Hudson”Survivor Talks Forgiveness

Posted On August 12, 2013

“Once again, Vinny, you have penned a stroke of simple brilliance. I thoroughly enjoyed 7 Secrets of Confession as much as I enjoyed 7 Secrets of the Eucharist and 21 Ways to Worship. I must say though, that this book impacted me on a very personal level. Particularly the last secret, the chains, and the chain of unforgiveness. I realized at some level there were a few people in my life whom I struggled to forgive. While I had always realized the necessity of willing to forgive and had done so, it is easy to harbor lingering resentment and that really is a form of willful unforgiveness if we feed it.

When I read that chapter it was like a lightening bolt striking me and it was painfully obvious. It is amazing that after so many years of trying to be a good Catholic, of such deep struggle at times, of such effort, I really had missed this reality in its total call of absolute willingness to let go of secret anger towards those who had done me wrong. I prayed the three Rs for those for whom I held any form of grudge, and it was actually quite easy and liberating.

But there was one last person on my list, one who is extremely close, one whom I had never forgiven or thought to forgive, the one who had wronged me throughout my life and against whom I was content to build a fortress of anger, bitterness and resentment. This last person seemed to emerge from the dark and confront me head on, and I just stared at him. To forgive him seemed impossible to me. And yet how could I call myself a Christian, how could I expect our Lord to give me mercy, if I would not reconcile with this man?

I continued to visualize him in my mind, and he was just there, silent and alone, waiting. And I reached out my hand and said, ‘I’m sorry, I forgive you, you didn’t mean it. I know.’ And then, Vinny, I could truly say your prayer, ‘Lord, I receive your love from the cross.’ Of course, that man whom I had to forgive was me.”

Fred Berretta, a passenger aboard US Air Flight 1549 that crashed in the Hudson River on Jan 15, 2009

 

For an incredibly beautiful story on the crash and why Fred was thinking of Vinny’s first book 7 Secrets of the Eucharist and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as the plane went down, go here: http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=3493

To purchase Fred’s inspiring book, “Flight of Faith” go here: http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Faith-My-Miracle-Hudson/dp/1935302302