To forgive is to voluntarily or intentionally put aside resentments you feel regarding an occurrence between yourself or your relationships. By forgiving, you can unload the burden inside yourself and make yourself feel better. May these quotes about forgiveness give you insights that will make you realize the healing power of forgiveness. Let go of the past, learn from it, and move forward.
1. “When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.” – Jon Krakauer
2. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – John F. Kennedy
3. “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.” – Confucius
4. “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” – Bryant H. McGill
5. “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” – Thomas Szasz
6. “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” – Anne Lamott
7. “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.” – Gerald G. Jampolsky
8. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” – Steve Maraboli
9. “Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.” – Robert Jordan
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10. “The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” – Marianne Williamson
11. “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” – Marvin J. Ashton
12. “Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.” – Henri J.M. Nouwen
13. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” – Nelson Mandela
14. “Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.” – Rick Warren
-min.jpg "Forgiveness quotes to help you recover from the past")
15. “But we can't go back. We can only go forward.” – Libba Bray
16. “Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.” – J.K. Rowling
17. “Always forgive, but never forget, else you will be a prisoner of your own hatred, and doomed to repeat your mistakes forever.” – Wil Zeus
18. “I have learned, that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, a flaw, you have to tell yourself 'That's just fine. You have to forgive yourself so much, until you don't even see those things anymore. Because that's what love is like.” – C. JoyBell C.
19. “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Teresa
-min.jpg "Forgiveness quotes to help you recover from the past")
20. “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope
21. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain
22. “Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” – Will Smith
23. “Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim, letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.” – C.R. Strahan
24. “Listen. Slide the weight from your shoulders and move forward. You are afraid you might forget, but you never will. You will forgive and remember.” – Barbara Kingsolver
-min.jpg "Forgiveness quotes to help you recover from the past")
25. “It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.” – Steve Maraboli
26. “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.” – Wm. Paul Young
27. “Forgiveness is God's greatest gift.” – Dan Brown
28. “Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them, but love cannot cease to will their removal.” – C.S. Lewis
29. “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.” – Oprah Winfrey
30. “Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” – Corrie Ten Boom
More Quotes Regarding Forgiveness
31. “An eye for an eye, and the whole world would be blind.” – Kahlil Gibran
32. “Forgiveness is a powerful expression of the love within our soul.” – Anthony Douglas
33. “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
34. “A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.” – Stephen Richards
35. “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat.” – Wm. Paul Young
36. “I guess forgiveness, like happiness, isn’t a final destination. You don’t one day get there and get to stay.” – Deb Caletti
37. “One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.” – Socrates
38. “Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.” – Emma Goldman
39. “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You're done. It doesn't necessarily mean that you want to have lunch with the person. If you keep hitting back, you stay trapped in the nightmare.” – Anne Lamott
40. “I want to be the kind of person who can do that. Move on and forgive people and be healthy and happy. It seems like an easy thing to do in my head. But it's not so easy when you try it in real life.” – Susane Colasanti
41. “Dear Lord, please show me everything I need to understand about forgiveness and surrender.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
42. “Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women.” – Margaret Atwood
43. “It is surely better to pardon too much, than to condemn too much.” – George Eliot
44. “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.” – Anne Lamott
45. “To forgive is wisdom, to forget is genius.” – Joyce Cary
46. “A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.” – William Arthur Ward
47. “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” – Corrie Ten Boom
48. “Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.” – Ted Chiang
49. “A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.” – Linda Sue Park
50. “We don't forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it, because we need it.” – Bree Despain
51. “It's all very well to tell us to forgive our enemies; our enemies can never hurt us very much. But oh, what about forgiving our friends?” – Willa Cather
52. “I can forgive you for leaving, but not for coming back.” – Jonathan Safran Foer
53. “In the bible it says you have to forgive seventy times seven. I want you all to know, I'm keeping a chart.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton
54. “Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else; it's something you do for yourself. To forgive is not to condone, it is to refuse to continue feeling bad about an injury.” – Jim Beaver
55. “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” – Lewis Smedes
56. “Letting ourselves be forgiven is one of the most difficult healings we will undertake. And one of the most fruitful.” – Stephen Levine
57. “I'm not perfect. Remember that, and try to forgive me when I fail you.” – Elizabeth Lowell
58. “Forgiveness is not a one off decision; it is a journey and a process that takes time, determination, and persistence. Forgiveness is not forgetting; it is simply denying your pain the right to control your life.” – Corallie Buchanan
59. “Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.” – Jennifer McMahon
60. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
61. “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee
62. “Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” – Desmond Tutu
63. “He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” – Lord Herbert
64. “Reversing your treatment of the man you have wronged is better than asking his forgiveness.” – Elbert Hubbard
65. “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.” – Dalai Lama
66. “Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
67. “And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others.” – Rick Warren
68. “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.” – T. D. Jakes
69. “I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they're sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.” – Yolanda Hadid
70. “It's not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.” – Tyler Perry
71. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” – William Arthur Ward
72. “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” – Jessica Lange
73. “We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it's absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.” – T. D. Jakes
74. “You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.” – Maya Angelou
75. “Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” – Roberto Assagioli
76. “I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge.” – Gerald Jampolsky
77. “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Katherine Ponder
78. “Forgiveness is a way of opening up the doors again and moving forward, whether it's a personal life or a national life.” – Hillary Clinton
79. “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.” – Saint Augustine
80. “Forgiveness provides hope, joy, and a bright future that nothing else can.” – Paul J. Meyer
81. “The remedy for life’s broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don’t try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive.” – Iyanla Vanzant
82. “Choosing forgiveness opens the door of your heart and makes way for a miracle in your life.” – Victoria Osteen
83. “To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.” – David Small
84. “You have to work on forgiveness and love, and that includes your own self.” – Brian Welch
85. “When there's that forgiveness present and compassion, it just helps you live so much easier.” – Craig T. Nelson
86. “I learned about forgiveness, and I've reached out to others to make amends.” – Beth Hart
87. “The power of forgiveness is huge; it is really big, and it can save this world.” – Immaculee Ilibagiza
88. “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love.” – Fred Rogers
89. “True forgiveness is when you can say, Thank you for that experience.” – Oprah Winfrey
90. “As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.” – Isabelle Holland
91. “Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.” – Pope John Paul II
92. “Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
93. “You don't need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” – Guy Finley
94. “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.” – Sue Monk Kidd
95. “Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions.” – Desmond Tutu
Share these Famous Forgiveness Quotes with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – John F. Kennedy
3. “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.” – Confucius
4. “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” – Bryant H. McGill
5. “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” – Thomas Szasz
6. “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” – Anne Lamott
7. “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.” – Gerald G. Jampolsky
8. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” – Steve Maraboli
9. “Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.” – Robert Jordan
11. “Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” – Marvin J. Ashton
12. “Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.” – Henri J.M. Nouwen
13. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” – Nelson Mandela
14. “Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record.” – Rick Warren
16. “Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.” – J.K. Rowling
17. “Always forgive, but never forget, else you will be a prisoner of your own hatred, and doomed to repeat your mistakes forever.” – Wil Zeus
18. “I have learned, that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, a flaw, you have to tell yourself 'That's just fine. You have to forgive yourself so much, until you don't even see those things anymore. Because that's what love is like.” – C. JoyBell C.
19. “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Teresa
21. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain
22. “Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” – Will Smith
23. “Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim, letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.” – C.R. Strahan
24. “Listen. Slide the weight from your shoulders and move forward. You are afraid you might forget, but you never will. You will forgive and remember.” – Barbara Kingsolver
26. “Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive.” – Wm. Paul Young
27. “Forgiveness is God's greatest gift.” – Dan Brown
28. “Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them, but love cannot cease to will their removal.” – C.S. Lewis
29. “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.” – Oprah Winfrey
30. “Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” – Corrie Ten Boom
More Quotes Regarding Forgiveness
31. “An eye for an eye, and the whole world would be blind.” – Kahlil Gibran
32. “Forgiveness is a powerful expression of the love within our soul.” – Anthony Douglas
33. “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
34. “A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.” – Stephen Richards
35. “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat.” – Wm. Paul Young
36. “I guess forgiveness, like happiness, isn’t a final destination. You don’t one day get there and get to stay.” – Deb Caletti
37. “One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.” – Socrates
38. “Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.” – Emma Goldman
39. “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. You're done. It doesn't necessarily mean that you want to have lunch with the person. If you keep hitting back, you stay trapped in the nightmare.” – Anne Lamott
40. “I want to be the kind of person who can do that. Move on and forgive people and be healthy and happy. It seems like an easy thing to do in my head. But it's not so easy when you try it in real life.” – Susane Colasanti
41. “Dear Lord, please show me everything I need to understand about forgiveness and surrender.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
42. “Forgiving men is so much easier than forgiving women.” – Margaret Atwood
43. “It is surely better to pardon too much, than to condemn too much.” – George Eliot
44. “Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.” – Anne Lamott
45. “To forgive is wisdom, to forget is genius.” – Joyce Cary
46. “A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.” – William Arthur Ward
47. “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” – Corrie Ten Boom
48. “Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.” – Ted Chiang
49. “A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.” – Linda Sue Park
50. “We don't forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it, because we need it.” – Bree Despain
51. “It's all very well to tell us to forgive our enemies; our enemies can never hurt us very much. But oh, what about forgiving our friends?” – Willa Cather
52. “I can forgive you for leaving, but not for coming back.” – Jonathan Safran Foer
53. “In the bible it says you have to forgive seventy times seven. I want you all to know, I'm keeping a chart.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton
54. “Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else; it's something you do for yourself. To forgive is not to condone, it is to refuse to continue feeling bad about an injury.” – Jim Beaver
55. “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” – Lewis Smedes
56. “Letting ourselves be forgiven is one of the most difficult healings we will undertake. And one of the most fruitful.” – Stephen Levine
57. “I'm not perfect. Remember that, and try to forgive me when I fail you.” – Elizabeth Lowell
58. “Forgiveness is not a one off decision; it is a journey and a process that takes time, determination, and persistence. Forgiveness is not forgetting; it is simply denying your pain the right to control your life.” – Corallie Buchanan
59. “Sometimes what a person needs most is to be forgiven.” – Jennifer McMahon
60. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
61. “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee
62. “Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” – Desmond Tutu
63. “He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” – Lord Herbert
64. “Reversing your treatment of the man you have wronged is better than asking his forgiveness.” – Elbert Hubbard
65. “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.” – Dalai Lama
66. “Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
67. “And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others.” – Rick Warren
68. “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.” – T. D. Jakes
69. “I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they're sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.” – Yolanda Hadid
70. “It's not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.” – Tyler Perry
71. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” – William Arthur Ward
72. “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” – Jessica Lange
73. “We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it's absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.” – T. D. Jakes
74. “You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘I forgive. I’m finished with it.” – Maya Angelou
75. “Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” – Roberto Assagioli
76. “I can have peace of mind only when I forgive rather than judge.” – Gerald Jampolsky
77. “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Katherine Ponder
78. “Forgiveness is a way of opening up the doors again and moving forward, whether it's a personal life or a national life.” – Hillary Clinton
79. “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.” – Saint Augustine
80. “Forgiveness provides hope, joy, and a bright future that nothing else can.” – Paul J. Meyer
81. “The remedy for life’s broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don’t try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive.” – Iyanla Vanzant
82. “Choosing forgiveness opens the door of your heart and makes way for a miracle in your life.” – Victoria Osteen
83. “To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.” – David Small
84. “You have to work on forgiveness and love, and that includes your own self.” – Brian Welch
85. “When there's that forgiveness present and compassion, it just helps you live so much easier.” – Craig T. Nelson
86. “I learned about forgiveness, and I've reached out to others to make amends.” – Beth Hart
87. “The power of forgiveness is huge; it is really big, and it can save this world.” – Immaculee Ilibagiza
88. “Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love.” – Fred Rogers
89. “True forgiveness is when you can say, Thank you for that experience.” – Oprah Winfrey
90. “As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.” – Isabelle Holland
91. “Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.” – Pope John Paul II
92. “Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
93. “You don't need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” – Guy Finley
94. “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.” – Sue Monk Kidd
95. “Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions.” – Desmond Tutu
Share these Famous Forgiveness Quotes with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.