"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity." - George Bernard Shaw

"Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." - Thomas Paine

This piece is another one of a series of writings depicting the author’s recent visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp, 10 miles north of Munich, in the southern part of Germany.

As I joined my family and walked the expanse grounds of this camp and paused at the crematorium, the mass graves where ashes were poured...
I thought of what St. Matthew wrote: “...If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him...” as the innocents were led to the slaughter.

I don’t think the tormentors were fooling around here,
but how many times should the punished forgive their perpetrators?
or about how many times one of the priests extended kindness and forgiveness before dying?
The answer I believe was absolutely clear:
Totally, completely, no limits---the way God only forgives us...
Were anyone of the 25,000 shown mercy? Perhaps a small token measure...
As my shoes struggle over the rocks, my thoughts too struggle.
But this event is too terrible to forgive,
what about the abuse, murder, and indifference?
The hope for generations now and to come is that God will equip us to forgive bigger offenses, to mold us in His image.
I want to forgive, but there are too many wounded hearts and souls,
only a memory holds.

Copyright © 2007 by Myles Saulibio. All Rights Reserved