FATHER UBALD - A STORY OF FORGIVENESS by Paul Montgomery

No matter how great or small, forgiveness is a powerful tool when applied through the power of God. We can easily forgive the little matters in life when we want to push through adversity from a friend or loved one and move forward. But what about sincere forgiveness, Christ-like forgiveness for matters far worse than we can ever imagine or feel? Well, here's a story of just that kind of forgiveness and magnitude. You want to talk about freedom? You want to talk about the healing power of forgiveness? Just listen to this man's story........


The origins of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are complex and the ethnic divisions in Rwanda between the Hutus and the Tutsis are longstanding. Tribal polarization exploded after the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana, who was a Hutu, and in a period of one hundred days, more than 800,000 people were systematically and violently murdered.

In the midst of this killing, Father Ubald Rugirangoga, a Catholic priest whose Tutsi father had been murdered in the 1962 overthrow of the Rwandan government and who had been himself threatened
by fellow seminarians in the 1980's, was forced to flee first to his bishop's residence and then to the Congo in return for a promise by the Hutus not to harm the people of his parish. As soon as he left, the Hutu members of his large parish betrayed this promise and brutally murdered approximately 45,000 Tutsi members of his parish. More than 80 members of his immediate and extended family, including his mother, were exterminated within the first two weeks of the massacre.

Before fleeing, Father Ubald promised his bishop that he would return to bring healing to his people. The massacre finally ended when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) regained power, but grief-stricken survivors were left bewildered by the intensity of the evil that had been unleashed in their country. Survivors of all ethnic groups experienced profound guilt: guilt for killing, guilt for surviving, guilt for not doing enough to prevent or mitigate the conflicts. Many sought revenge, but as has been said, "There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness."

Father Ubald spent many months in prayer and his tears filled a river before he made his way to Lourdes, France. It was there, as he meditated on the stations of the Cross, that he heard God tell him to release his sorrows and "pick up his cross." God filled his heart with a forgiveness that can only come from God. Subsequently, he met with and forgave the mayor of his town, who was the man who ordered the murder of Father Ubald's own mother. Father Ubald took responsibility for that man's children, treating them as his own and even paying for their schooling.

Father Ubald is a man who radiates the purity of God's grace and preached on forgiveness and reconciliation. He has built a center in Rwanda, called The Secret Of Peace which will minister to the people of Rwanda and the surrounding areas.

As Jesus called out for forgiveness for the people responsible for his death, this act of forgiveness from a man is a resemblance of the nature of God. Who can we not forgive?

 Paul Montgomery

Why Does God Allow Suffering

Why does God allow suffering?

This is a question asked around the world. Why would God allow people to suffer at the hands of enemies. From the beginning of time there has been countless sufferings and killings to mankind. Wars, tortures and senseless atrocities that have become staple to an evil way of life. This evil has caused many to fall from the belief that God exists or that he must be an unjust God. Why would he simply allow it? How can I follow God when these things happen around the world? These are questions that many ask to each other and to God himself. An explanation is at hand.

First, if God stopped every evil that is in the world then we would no longer have the right to choose. We would not be human as we know it. God understands evil because he created the very being that cursed this world with it. Would we all prefer to be robots controlled by a master puppet? Or do we enjoy the free will given us to make choices for ourselves? Do we make good choices and then God steps in and pulls out the bad ones? Yeah that's it. Just have God take away every bad thought, choice and circumstance from our life and go around with half a will. Right? That's not free will to me. It's our choices that make who we are. I must say I do enjoy being fully me with the character that I have created from God's template. (Although I could have made better choices along the way.) God will vindicate those that have been subject to choices made by evil. Sometimes even now. But a time will come when all stand before his throne to give account. This you can be assured. We must wait and be patient.

God did not allow suffering from a distance. He placed himself right in the midst of it here on earth. We not only believe in God, but we also believe he is the creator of all things and can do anything. He can certainly become any form he chooses. He chose to come into our dark world from his safety in heaven and become a man (Jesus). He suffered greatly at the hands of evil just like the rest of the world. We can certainly love and respect anyone who would stand up for us like that. The only difference of his suffering from the rest of us is that his was atoning for our sins.

In the bible God said we must suffer for a little while on earth. Originally the earth was made for us to enjoy and prosper. But man and all his foolishness ripped apart the very design God had intended. Evil took over. We must wait until we have reached the afterlife in eternity to discover what God had originally intended for us. If we can just look past what we alone have managed to mess up from God's creation, we can reach for him through Jesus Christ (which is how God says we must) and be taken away from evil forever.

Please leave your comments.

by Paul Montgomery
www.paulmontgomerymusic.com