Culture and Lifestyle Quotes and Sayings 75 Quotes About Forgiveness To Help You Move On If you’ve ever let anger or resentment become a stronghold in your life, read through these forgiveness quotes to inspire you to let go of the past. By Nellah Bailey McGough Nellah Bailey McGough Nellah McGough runs the day-to-day operations in the Southern Living Birmingham office, responds to reader questions and comments, manages freelancer contracts, and invoices. She is also the co-host (with Steve Bender) of Ask Grumpy Podcast. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on April 30, 2024 Close Photo: Getty Images A lack of forgiveness comes in many forms. Unexpected breakups, family trauma, or betrayal of any kind can easily cause resentment to take root in our hearts. If you find yourself wondering where to begin, these forgive-and-forget quotes are sure to inspire you to take next steps in your compassion journey 58 Healing Quotes For Inspiration And Encouragement 01 of 06 Quotes About Love And Forgiveness Southern Living "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." - Bryant H. McGill"If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive." - Mother Teresa"Forgiveness is a powerful expression of the love within our soul." - Anthony Douglas"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."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"Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation." - Roberto Assagioli"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“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."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“Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours.” – Phillips Brooks“If there are occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart.” - Jesse Jackson“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“Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” – Ben Greenhalgh 02 of 06 Forgive And Take The High Road Southern Living "To err is human; to forgive, divine." - Alexander Pope"Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget." - Maria Edgeworth"Forgiveness isn't approving what happened. It's choosing to rise above it." - Robin Sharma“By having a forgiving attitude, you can change your life and the lives of the people you care about most.” – Kathie M. Thomson"Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness; those are life-altering lessons." - Jessica Lange"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." - Mark Twain“I like second chances. I’ve given people second chances. You have fall-outs with friends, and forgiveness is a great thing to have. It’s not easy to forgive. I definitely don’t forget, but I do forgive.” - Odette Annable"Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them." - Bruce Lee"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"Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it forgoes revenge," - Edwin Hubble Chapin“Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen“Thankfully, forgiveness, and the healing it brings in its wake, has nothing to do with ‘deserve.'” - Eric Metaxas 03 of 06 Quotes About Choosing Forgiveness Southern Living “When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.” – Alan Paton"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"Forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying 'You're not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.' It's saying, 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future'." - Jodi Picoult"We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness." - Frederick William Roberson"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." - Mahatma Gandhi"There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness." - Josh Billings"If one by one we counted people out / For the least sin, it wouldn't take us long / To get so we had no one left to live with. / For to be social is to be forgiving." - Robert Frost"Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another." - Emma Goldman"Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions." - Desmond Tutu"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“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“Though I was unaware of it at the time, that simple act of forgiveness was the beginning of an entirely new level of experiencing life for me.” – Wayne Dyer 04 of 06 Forgiving And Healing Quotes Southern Living "Take forgiveness slowly. Don't blame yourself for being slow. Peace will come." - Yoko Ono"When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow." - Anonymous"True forgiveness is when you can say 'Thank you for that experience'." - Oprah Winfrey"Never forget the nine most important words of any family: I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me." - Jackson Brown Jr. "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“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” – Martin Luther King Jr.“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you are.” – Cherie Carter-Scott“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” - Katherine Ponder“To understand somebody else as a human being, I think, is about as close to real forgiveness as one can get.” - David Small“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?” - bell hooks“Reconciliation and forgiveness can actually help all of us move on in a healthier, happier way.” - Chesa Boudin 05 of 06 Quotes On Forgiving Yourself Southern Living "How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.” - Publilius Syrus"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Lewis B. Smedes"Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend." - Jewel“The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.” – Robert Downey Jr."Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting." - William Arthur Ward “It’s toughest to forgive ourselves. So it’s probably best to start with other people. It’s almost like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, forgiving others, you really do get to the point where you can forgive yourself.” - Patty Duke“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.” - Desmond Tutu“As we know, forgiveness of oneself is the hardest of all the forgivenesses.” - Joan Baez"Forgiveness is healing...especially forgiving yourself." - Alyson Noël 06 of 06 Forgive And Embrace Freedom Southern Living “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boose"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"It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." - Maya Angelou"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."Let's shake free this gravity of judgment, and fly high on the wings of forgiveness." - India Arie Simpson"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 Mandala“Life is too short. I forgive and forget. I have not time to get mad or hate.” - Debasish Mridha“Forgotten is forgiven.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald“Forgiveness is not to give the other person peace. Forgiveness is for you. Take that opportunity.” - Mackenzie Phillips“Just knowing you don’t have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn – and those are all good things.” - Dick Van Dyke“Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” – Dave Willis“Forgiveness is for you—not the other person. It’s something you do inside yourself that you feel in your body and heart that releases you from your past and frees you to live life fully.” – Barbara J. Hunt“Don’t ever underestimate the power of forgiveness. I’ve seen it free people. I’ve seen it lift burdens that had weighed them down and kept them from moving on.” – Buffy Andrews Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit