Sr Elizabeth William CMC

“Responding with a vengeance is cruel. It must be borne in the mind that a good character can be expected from a person of reason and patience” (Chavarul, Part 1, Paragraph 15).

In his Chavarul, St Chavara stressed on the need of getting rid of revenge. Human mind should be cleansed of it. Forgiveness should be practiced as illustrated by Jesus Christ. The basis of Christianity is forgiveness and love. He insisted that one has to be away from revenge and retaliation as it spoils the quality of life. Revenge can make a person a prey to evil. Filling our mind with anger, hatred and vengeance deteriorates the purity and quality of the mind.

Revenge or ‘an eye for an eye’ approach, the wild justice of the philistine society, is predominant in the society. We are intolerant of each other. Revenge does not always involve hurting others on a physical level. It can also lead us into actions where we want to bring harm to another’s reputation; sometimes it can lead to physical assault too. The end result will be stress and sleepless nights.

Each experience of revenge, events and situations cause heartache and grief. We become upset and discouraged that revenge seems to be the only way to pull us out of our depression. By revenge, we are destroying the chance for relationship by fostering a desire to retaliate. By keeping grudge, one becomes a bitter, hurtful and rude and gradually destroys the ability to forgive. Chavara advises us to forgive. Forgiveness demands incredible amounts of strength and character.

In fact, forgiveness and patience build character. Impatience, annoyance, intolerance, worry, fear and distrust are the opposite of patience (Rom 8:28). Patience allows us to rely and trust in the God’s timing, so we surrender to His plan regardless of circumstances. A patient man is better than a warrior and he who rules his temper than he who takes a city (Prov 16:32). Fortified character expands one’s capacity to exercise more faith. As a result, the capacity and confidence to conquer the trails of life are enhanced.

St Chavara speaks out from his own experience. An incident is narrated in his ‘Chronicles’ that when one family dared to file a case against Chavara and the monastery, he forgave them; besides, he entrusted his confreres to help them in the future. In a family, Chavara wishes that father and mother should be model to their children by keeping away from mutual fight, gossip, character assassination, ill-treatment, etc., so that a loving, caring and fostering family will evolve which, consequently, will pave way for a peaceful society which would reflect the heavenly peace.