Susan Casselman's Forgiveness: Pardon Me

Forgiveness is what holds and brings relationships together. If you stay angry for long, your heart stubbornly hardens. But if you choose to forgive, you will be filled with the grace of God. We are all sinners and should never carry a

Forgiveness has a different context depending on where the person is from or what he believes. Religion places a great emphasis on the view of forgiveness.

By definition, to forgive is to accept and let go of the offences done against one, and by doing so, be able to remember them without rancor. In other words, the man thought to be forgiving is one who does not totally forgets the wrongs committed against him (because that is a quite impossible action). In reality, the forgiving man is one who is able to recall all those wrongs, and still be at peace with himself and with the offender in question. This activity is quite difficult to do, namely because in order to truly forgive, one must have strong convictions. This can be understood better if we consider how easier it is to hate a person for something he or she did to one, instead of absolving he or she of all fault and consequently accepting to love the person after the wrong committed. Therefore, the moral virtue of forgiveness becomes easier when the determination of giving second chances becomes a habit.

Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.

Forgive today, live in peace tomorrow. Forgiveness; one of the many hardships we encounter throughout life. As Marianne Williamson, an American author, stated, “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.” Forgiveness leads to peace because it lets go of all the negative feelings and allows freedom from disturbance to take place.

Life has ups and downs, it may stab you in the back, but it’s a choice to forgive and forget about it. Forgiveness is something that helps people move on. For every person, the word forgiveness has a different meaning, for me it means leaving behind actions from my past. Personally, I like to think that forgiveness is a way to start over whether in a friendship or in life. If the opportunity presented itself to me to explain the word, forgiveness, to someone I would simply reply that it is the idea of setting yourself free from all the hate one has been holding.

2. According to the article, forgiveness is granting unconditionally grace to those who have cause suffering and pain and accepting what they did and not letting that affect the love they show to that person. Forgiveness is central for racial reconciliation because forgiveness is the first step of mending the relationship with others. It also allows God to do a work between the two groups. When there is forgiveness God can change hearts and create amazing things to happen out of tragedies.

As one grows from infant to adult an even elderly age, we experience many events in life. One only grows from mistakes that are inevitable to happen. Like the Yin Yang theory, for instance, shadow cannot exist without light. Therefor forgiveness comes into play, it is defined as the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. In The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. It discusses the moral ethics of the matter of forgiveness. Questions are asked by Wiesenthal, what would you do? If a dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness? Forgiveness can often be influenced by religious belief, psychological, and political point of view, one is always capable of asking for forgiveness or granting forgiveness to another, granted or not, one makes a choice and lives with that decision.

The act of forgiveness may appear to be a simple task. Well, it is not.

Forgiveness: the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. To forgive means to stop being angry, stop blaming, or feeling resentful towards someone for either an offense, flaw or mistake. There is a difference between forgiving someone

Forgiveness by the World English Dictionary is the “act of forgiving; state of being forgiven, disposition or willingness to forgive”. But what does it really mean? That is my question. Is being able to forgive and not forget the same thing? In my life, I have found that true forgiveness is a quality that separates us from other species and it is what makes us human. In order to truly and sincerely forgive, one must, aside from saying they have forgiven the person, let it go and not hold a grudge against that person. Just, as Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." I believe that holds to be true.

“The Church as Forgiving Community: An Initial Model,” by Chad M. Magnuson and Robert D. Enright is a research article based on the study of forgiveness. This article guides the reader through steps on how to work towards forgiveness as an individual, through the church, and into the community, and also how to then sustain the forgiving community that has been built through this forgiveness education. Magnuson and Enright propose a three-tiered holistic psycho-educational approach to forgiveness education called “The Forgiving Communities.” They state, “The goal of The Forgiving Communities is to deepen

This in turn leads to the idea in which forgiveness is a cancellation of a debt and the offended party no longer expects repayment for the pain caused (Pettigrove, 2012). Additionally, forgiveness is the release of bitterness or anger as an effect of an apparent offense while ceasing to demand punishment (Pettigrove, 2012). Furthermore, it begins by accepting what has happened and choosing to let go by making a decision to forgive and love the offender by canceling the debt (Pettigrove, 2012). Likewise, it releases judgement as well as thoughts of revenge or ill-will to the one who caused harm while resuming some form of a relationship with those who caused the hardship (Pettigrove, 2012). What is more, it is taking the responsibility for one’s own feelings while taking back control of one’s life instead of allowing those feelings complete control (Pettigrove, 2012). Finally, it allows God the room to move and work within our lives as He begins to heal the brokenness.

Overall, Terry’s article was well written and completely grounded in scripture. He closes his article by emphasizing how forgiveness depends upon substitution. Through any act of forgiveness, the forgiving party has to surrender the right to their repayment or compensation. Forgiveness is always an act of grace.

Forgiveness should be a gift which you give yourself. When you feel that forgiveness is necessary, do not forgive for “their” sake.