quotations about forgiveness
True and genuine forgiveness, that which our Lord commands, buries all offenses beyond all hope of resurrection in the deep bosom of the ocean, and knows them again no more forever. Indeed, a friendship cemented by forgiveness is like iron welded--stronger at the point of juncture than elsewhere; or like a broken bone repaired--it will break anywhere else sooner than at the place of former fracture.
R. H. BENNETT
"The Law of Forgiveness", Homiletic Review, Volume 55
Remember, the purpose of forgiveness is to release yourself from the emotional attachment to the event. Forgiveness is like getting out of jail.
JIM BROWN
Spiritual Breadcrumbs from the Universe
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
JESUS
Luke 17:3
Forgiveness is like money. We want to get it, not give it.
JENTEZEN FRANKLIN
Love Like You've Never Been Hurt
"Forgive and forget" goes the expression, and for our idealized magnanimous selves, that was all you needed. But for our actual selves the relationship between those two actions wasn't so straightforward. In most cases we had to forget a little bit before we could forgive; when we no longer experienced the pain as fresh, the insult was easier to forgive, which in turn made it less memorable, and so on.
TED CHIANG
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling", Subterranean Press Magazine
There is an ugly kind of forgiveness in this world--a kind of hedgehog forgiveness, shot out like quills.
HENRY WARD BEECHER
Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit
The offender never pardons.
GEORGE HERBERT
Jacula Prudentum
Forgiveness, that noblest of all self-denial, is a virtue, which he alone that can practice in himself, can willingly believe in another.
CHARLES CALEB COLTON
Lacon
When our anger turns to bitterness it becomes like a weed in the garden of our heart. If we pull the weeds, our garden can stay healthy and alive. But if we allow bitter weeds to grow, eventually our garden becomes ugly and weeds choke the life out of the vegetables in our garden. Forgiveness is like pulling out the weeds.
MICHAEL E. MCCULLOUGH
To Forgive Is Human: How to Put Your Past in the Past
Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge, and dares to forgive an injury.
EDWIN HUBBELL CHAPIN
attributed, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers
Forgotten is forgiven.
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
The Crack-Up
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
attributed, Mayor
When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.
JON KRAKAUER
Into the Wild
Forgiveness is healing ... especially forgiving yourself.
ALYSON NOËL
Evermore
Forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence.
DESMOND TUTU
attributed, Pastoral Care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Healing the Shattered Soul
But remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest.
MARGARET ATWOOD
The Handmaid's Tale
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
JESUS
Luke 11:4
It is right for him who asks forgiveness for his offenses to grant it to others.
HORACE
Satires
Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn in two and burned up, so that it never can be shown against the man.
HENRY WARD BEECHER
Life Thoughts
Forgiveness is like catching a little fish. You reel it in, and you make a decision to keep it or let it go. With the little ones, you take the hook out of its mouth and throw it back in. The scar from the hook doesn't go away and the fish ought to remember not to repeat the mistake. But the fish is back in the creek and free to do whatever fish do. The purpose of forgiveness is freedom, like being thrown back into the creek.
DAVID RYDER
The Hound of Tooty River