Forgiveness Quotes

"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."

"Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness."

"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well."

"I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one."

"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself for every man has need to be forgiven."

"People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what's bitter and move on."

"Forgiveness is the final form of love."

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits."

"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me."

"How does one know if she has forgiven? You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him. You tend to have nothing left to say about it all."

"A mistake is always forgivable, rarely excusable and always unacceptable."

"Forgiveness means letting go of the past."

"The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius."

"Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again."

"If there is something to pardon in everything, there is also something to condemn."

"Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again."

"Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting."

"One forgives to the degree that one loves."

"To be social is to be forgiving."

"The ineffable joy of forgiving and being forgiven forms an ecstasy that might well arouse the envy of the gods."

"Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness."

"Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself."

"Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on."

"Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast."

"When women love us, they forgive us everything, even our crimes when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even our virtues."

"Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure."

"It takes one person to forgive, it takes two people to be reunited."

"It's said in Hollywood that you should always forgive your enemies - because you never know when you'll have to work with them."

"Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough."

"There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness."

"Without forgiveness, there's no future."

"Genuine forgiveness does not deny anger but faces it head-on."

"Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another."

"God will forgive me. It's his job."

"Forgive, son men are men they needs must err."

"How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself."

"Forgive many things in others nothing in yourself."

"My desire is to be a forgiving, non-judgmental person."

"The ability to forgive is one of man's greatest achievements."

"Life is an adventure in forgiveness."

"It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

"I do not bring forgiveness with me, nor forgetfulness. The only ones who can forgive are dead the living have no right to forget."

"It is very east to forgive others their mistakes it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own."

"Forgiveness is the giving, and so the receiving, of life."

"To understand is to forgive, even oneself."

"I shall be an autocrat, that's my trade and the good Lord will forgive me, that's his."

"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."

"Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life."

"Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness."

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."

"Reversing your treatment of the man you have wronged is better than asking his forgiveness."

"Forgiveness is God's command."

"When I am able to resist the temptation to judge others, I can see them as teachers of forgiveness in my life, reminding me that I can only have peace of mind when I forgive rather than judge."

"Anger ventilated often hurries towards forgiveness anger concealed often hardens into revenge."

"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."

"Forgiveness is not a feeling - it's a decision we make because we want to do what's right before God. It's a quality decision that won't be easy and it may take time to get through the process, depending on the severity of the offense."

"God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness."

"Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions."

"Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning."

"The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness."

"Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge."

"For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?"

"Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart."

"Without forgiveness life is governed by... an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation."

"You've just got to have a sense of respect for the person you have children with. Anger doesn't help anybody. Ultimately you have to say forgiveness is important, and honoring what you had together is important. But it's easy to say and harder to do."

"If only I wasn't an atheist, I could get away with anything. You'd just ask for forgiveness and then you'd be forgiven. It sounds much better than having to live with guilt."

"Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you've closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart."

"The first step in forgiveness is the willingness to forgive."

"I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance."

"Before Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962, he was an angry, relatively young man. He founded the ANC's military wing. When he was released, he surprised everyone because he was talking about reconciliation and forgiveness and not about revenge."

"Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past."

"I have to ask Allah's forgiveness and not get angry, because they come to me out of love, and it's not fitting that I should turn to them in hatred."

"We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it's absolutely not it takes a very strong person to forgive."

"I realized that it's all really one, that John Lennon was correct. We utilize the music to bring down the walls of Berlin, to bring up the force of compassion and forgiveness and kindness between Palestines, Hebrews. Bring down the walls here in San Diego, Tijuana, Cuba."

"I did a lot of things that I regretted and I certainly paid for my mistakes. You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right, by other people as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night."

"The fact is there is forgiveness for those who seek God. And I believe in the power of redemption."

"I think the first step is to understand that forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It's a gift you give yourself."

"We cannot embrace God's forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges."

"Forgiveness to the injured does belong but they ne'er pardon who have done wrong."

"God's forgiveness allows us to be honest with ourselves. We recognize our imperfections, admit our failures, and plead to God for clemency."

"We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness."

"The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The new generation has to hear what the older generation refuses to tell it."

"I find forgiveness to be really healthy."

"My desire is to stand up and brush myself off when I make mistakes and ask for forgiveness."

"Forgiveness really is so misunderstood, as well as the power it can release in an individual."

"I think it's important to remember that Christianity was based in love and tolerance and forgiveness and acceptance."

"I think we learn the most from imperfect relationships - things like forgiveness and compassion."

"On a level of simple personal survival, understanding and forgiveness are crucial... whether in an intimate personal relationship or on a global level."

"When there's that forgiveness present and compassion, it just helps you live so much easier."

"Forgiveness is indifference. Forgiveness is impossible while love lasts."

"Caught' is a novel of forgiveness, and the past and the present - who should be and who shouldn't be forgiven. None of my books are ever just about thrills, or it won't work."

"To sin offers repentance and forgiveness not to sin offers only punishment."

"I like cast iron coated with enamel for longevity and forgiveness if I happen to take my eyes off the prize while pouring Chianti."

"One important theme is the extent to which one can ever correct an error, especially outside any frame of religious forgiveness. All of us have done something we regret - how we manage to remove that from our conscience, or whether that's even possible, interested me."

"Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend."

"On the Day of Atonement, Jews are commanded to seek forgiveness from the people we have hurt."

"The Dalai Lama's entire being is about peace and harmony, forgiveness and self-discipline. Those are qualities to be admired. I am really looking forward to meeting His Holiness."

"As we know, forgiveness of oneself is the hardest of all the forgivenesses."

"I think it is important that we rebuild an atmosphere of forgiveness and civility in every aspect of our lives."

"I ask the people of Connecticut for their forgiveness, I should have paid more attention to people around me and people that I trusted but I am sorry for my actions and take full responsibility."

"God's forgiveness is the only thing. And, well, I take full responsibility for the adultery. It was my fault and, you know, no matter what went on, the man has to take responsibility and I do."

"Well, of course I think people can be forgiven. But our justice system is not set up to dispense forgiveness. You can go to the local priest for that."

"Forgiveness isn't about condoning what has happened to you or someone else's actions against you."

"Sometimes I see myself fine, sometimes I need a witness. And I like the whole truth, but there are nights I only need forgiveness."

"There is no forgiveness in nature."

"I am making amends and seeking forgiveness. My only hope is that some good can come out of my situation."

"China's idea of fair trade is government subsidies of its textile and apparel exports to the United States, currency manipulation, and forgiveness of loans by its government banks."

"The things the writers have me doing on 'Suburgatory' are insane. I think they think it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

"I would say that playing this character has caused me to think about a lot of things. He's always questioning himself and trying to get back to something he lost touch with and trying to find forgiveness. Everybody struggles with these things to some extent in their life."

"I'm currently in an interesting correspondence with a nun about forgiveness."

"I invite everyone to chose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal ambition."

"I would say the hierarchy has made terrible errors in judgment and it has to seek forgiveness by its members."

"I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Mark's happier. I'm sober. There are still phone calls to be made, people I need to say something to. But everyone from Creed who I've offended or hurt, I ask for their forgiveness."

"I discipline churchgoers with godly lessons and sharp words if they do not change their ways. My goal is to open their hearts so that they seek forgiveness."

"These subsidies from four European governments, which include aircraft launch assistance, capital injections, debt forgiveness, have enabled Airbus to develop and range market airliners well below cost."

"The principle that certain sins should not receive the Church's testimony of forgiveness was probably no novelty at all, but had been applied in various churches perhaps, however, with no strict consistency."

"I learned a long time ago that some people would rather die than forgive. It's a strange truth, but forgiveness is a painful and difficult process. It's not something that happens overnight. It's an evolution of the heart."

"One can't relive one's life. Forgiveness is not what's difficult one's always too ready to forgive. And it does no good, that's obvious."

"And as I ask for your forgiveness, I also ask for your support to keep all things in perspective and keep all things in proportion. The good of nine years versus the bad."

"I really do believe that God is love, one of deep affection and grace and forgiveness and inspiration."

"Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity."

"And the only thing to do with a sin is to confess, do penance and then, after some kind of decent interval, ask for forgiveness."

"Any story about revenge is ultimately a story about forgiveness, redemption, or the futility of revenge."

"I love my children. That will never change. I have prayed to them for forgiveness and hope that they will forgive me. I never meant to hurt them!!"

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude."

"When you forgive, you in no way change the past, but you sure do change the future."

"Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

"It is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."

"The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world."

"To err is human, to forgive, divine."

"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave."

"Without forgiveness, there is no future."

"He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass."

"Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom."

"People have to forgive. We don't have to like them, we don't have to be friends with them, but we have to forgive them."

"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."

"Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."

"True forgiveness is when you can say, Thank you for that experience."