Are we jealous because God is generous? Does it bother us when others are given unmerited gifts and forgiveness? Fr. Rolheiser’s response, “You bet! Ultimately, that sense of injustice, envy that someone else caught a break, is a huge stumbling block to our happiness. Why? Because something in us reacts negatively when it seems that life is not making others pay the same dues as we are paying. In heaven, we will be given what we are owed and more (unmerited gift, forgiveness we don’t deserve, joy beyond imagining), but, it seems, we will not be given that catharsis we so much want here on earth, the joy of seeing the wicked punished. The natural itch we have for strict justice (“An eye for an eye”) is exactly that, a natural itch, something the Gospels invite us beyond. The desire for strict justice blocks our capacity for forgiveness. It prevents us from entering heaven, where God, like the Father of the Prodigal Son, embraces and forgives without demanding a pound of flesh for a pound of sin. We know we need God’s mercy, but if grace is true for us, it must be true for everyone; if forgiveness is given to us, it must be given to everybody; and if God does not avenge our misdeeds, God must not avenge the misdeeds of others either. Such is the logic of grace and the love of the God to whom we must attune ourselves. Happiness is not about vengeance, but about forgiveness; not about retribution, but about unmerited embrace; and not about capital punishment, but about living beyond even murder. God leaves us free. When I, or anyone else, is upset at an airport, a parole board hearing, or anywhere else where someone gets something we don’t think they deserve, we must accept that we’re still a long way from understanding and accepting the kingdom of God.”