A Catholic cleric, Rev. Fr. Kingsley Ferdinand, has advised Nigerians to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness as it is the only way to make heaven.
Ferdinand, the Associate Priest at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Nyanya, Abuja, gave the advice during the Holy Mass on Sunday.
According to him, one of the greatest tragedies of a life is to miss heaven not because the person stole, killed or told lies but because he or she refused to forgive another.
“The dangers of unforgiveness are: it makes a soul a candidate of hell, it attracts torments upon a life (spiritual, medical and physical torments) and waters down the voice of prayer (mark 11:25),’’ Ferdinand said.
He said that forgiveness was better than vengeance because it led to healing of the body and soul while vengeance led to anger and wrath.
The priest added that any form of forgiveness from the heart would also enable God to forgive and heal such a person.
“No matter the wrong done to you, forgive because without it your eternity is in danger, you will definitely lose the favour of God.
“May God give us the grace to forgive and ultimately make heaven,’’ he said.
According to him, total forgiveness is a very difficult thing to do but we must strive to practice it.
He said that in spite of people’s sins against the Almighty, God still forgives which is a major reason we must also forgive.
