During Confession, there are penitents who confess that they got angry. The question is usually, “Is anger a sin?” Even Jesus got angry when the temple was being turned into a marketplace. He also got angry when rules were more important than people when the children were not allowed to come to him, when the religious make it difficult for people to go to God, and when the self-righteous and the judgmental say otherwise. 

Let us remember that anger is an emotion. An emotion that comes from frustration, hurt, annoyance, or disappointment. It is a normal human emotion that can range from slight irritation to strong rage. However, it becomes a sin when there is the desire for revenge, to hurt someone, or if it is already consuming the person – body, soul, emotion, and spirit. 

Hence one of the challenges of the Gospel is to remind us of the challenge to love and forgive:  “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother.”   

Three things about forgiving:

1. First, forgiveness is not about the person who hurt us. It is for us. Even if the person that has hurt us is not asking for forgiveness and even continually hurts us, we still forgive. This is so that we remove the anger and desire for revenge, which is so consuming.
   
2. Second, when we forgive, we are the first beneficiary. Science and medicine have proven that many sicknesses come from negative emotions.  Hostility can hurt your lungs, anger can affect your heart, and resentment can weaken your immune system.  
   
3. Third, we can only be forgiven by God if we forgive others. In the prayer that Jesus taught us we pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

We pray that we continue to journey to holiness. The best way is the path of forgiveness and love. It is not the easiest thing to do but it is the most liberating. We are healthier, we are at peace, and our sins are forgiven because we forgive others.