In this new and expanded edition which is almost double the number of pages as the original, Fr. McAlear adds what further prayer and reflection has revealed to him about forgiveness. In this edition, he not only provides valuable insight on the necessity of forgiveness for healing and spiritual growth, but also reflects on the fact that forgiveness is the very heart and soul of the Gospel message itself.
Fr. McAlear provides a fresh look at the biblical command to forgive. He explains with great clarity how as followers of Christ we are obliged to forgive and how in doing so, we are true Christian disciples. Forgiveness is not an option, but a way of living. It is not a feeling, but a choice. We choose to extend forgiveness to others as Christ has forgiven us.
Fr. McAlear asks us to face past hurts and search our hearts to see if we hold any unforgiveness towards others and maybe even towards God Himself. He challenges us to look at ourselves and to forgive ourselves. We open ourselves to Christ's wholeness and healing by extending and receiving forgiveness.
People have experienced the Grace to forgive others while reading this book. Many have said that past hurts and buried feelings of unforgiveness were evoked while reading this book. They were able to deal with the pain and hurt through forgiveness. A release of God's Mercy was then experienced.
Fr. McAlear is a highly sought out conference speaker and retreat director. He is known internationally for his teaching on the Eucharist and for his Ministry of Healing. For more than thirty years, Fr. McAlear has traveled around the world preaching the mercy and love of God that comes through Jesus Christ.
Fr. McAlear is a native of Boston, Massachusetts. He entered the religious order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1960, studied in Rome and was ordained there in 1970 after receiving degrees in Philosophy and Theology. He returned to the United States, taught high school and received his degree in Religious Education.
Fr. McAlear became involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in 1972 and entered into full-time healing ministry in 1976. This work has taken him to every part of the United States, as well as Asia, Central and South America, Canada, Ireland, and Australia.
Fr. McAlear's gifts of teaching and healing are powerful indications of the healing love of Jesus Christ being poured out on today's world. He is much in demand as a speaker for retreats, conferences, and seminars. He is also a popular pilgrimage director who has led hundreds of pilgrims to the Holy Land, Marian Shrines, and on many other journeys.
Since 1977, Fr. McAlear has been a member of the Association of Christian Therapists. He is a past director of Our Lady of Hope Center in Newburgh, New York, where healing prayer and charismatic ministry were combined with a strong outreach to the poor and needy of the area.
He spent 10 years in Washington, DC as Vocation Director, and was on staff at Ave Maria University in Florida. He has recently been released to devote himself to full-time preaching and to the healing ministry.
