Culture and Lifestyle Quotes and Sayings 40 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 Southern Living Editors Updated on January 20, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 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. It can be an unimaginably hard task to choose to let go of past hurts and begin to heal, but the decision to forgive will ultimately lead to a happier and more fulfilling life. It's important to understand that deciding to forgive doesn't mean you're dismissing or justifying the pain someone has caused you; it will however create space in your mind and heart for true joy. 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. That can often mean you need to forgive yourself first and these inspiring quotes about forgiveness will help you do just that. Keep reading for 30+ quotes, from wise people like Mother Teresa, Oprah, and the Pope, about forgiveness. The Best Quotes About Forgiveness 01 of 40 Yoko Ono Take forgiveness slowly. Don't blame yourself for being slow. Peace will come. - Yoko Ono. Southern Living "Take forgiveness slowly. Don't blame yourself for being slow. Peace will come." 02 of 40 Bryant H. McGill Southern Living "There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." 03 of 40 Will Smith Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because hate in your heart will consume you too. - Will Smith. Southern Living "Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, because hate in your heart will consume you too." 04 of 40 Mother Teresa Southern Living "If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive." 05 of 40 Jodi Picoult 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. Southern Living "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'." 06 of 40 Maria Edgeworth Southern Living "Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget." 07 of 40 Pope John Paul II "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. Southern Living "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against natural instinct to pay back evil with evil." 08 of 40 Anonymous Southern Living "When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow." 09 of 40 Tyler Perry "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. Southern Living "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." 10 of 40 Frederick William Robertson Southern Living "We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness." 11 of 40 Alexander Pope "To err is human; to forgive, divine. - Alexander Pope. Southern Living "To err is human; to forgive, divine." 12 of 40 Publilius Syrus Southern Living "How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself 13 of 40 Mahatma Gandhi "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." - Mahatma Gandhi. Southern Living "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." 14 of 40 Anthony Douglas Southern Living "Forgiveness is a powerful expression of the love within our soul." 15 of 40 Oprah Winfrey "True forgiveness is when you can say ‘Thank you for that experience,'" Oprah Winfrey. Southern Living "True forgiveness is when you can say 'Thank you for that experience'." 16 of 40 Josh Billings Southern Living "There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness." 17 of 40 Maya Angelou "It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." - Maya Angelou. Southern Living "It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody." 18 of 40 Robin Sharma Southern Living "Forgiveness isn't approving what happened. It's choosing to rise above it." 19 of 40 Martin Luther King Jr. “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. Southern Living "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." 20 of 40 Anonymous Southern Living "Forgiveness is not something we do for other people. It's something we do for ourselves to move on." 21 of 40 Robert Frost 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. Southern Living "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." 22 of 40 Jessica Lange Soutehrn Living "Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness; those are life-altering lessons." 23 of 40 H. Jackson Brown Jr. Never forget the nine most important words of any family: I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me. - H. Jackson Brown Jr. Southern Living "Never forget the nine most important words of any family: I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me." 24 of 40 Mark Twain Southern Living "Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." 25 of 40 Yolanda Hadid 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. Southern Living "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." 26 of 40 Lewis B. Smedes Soutehrn Living "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." 27 of 40 Martin Luther King Jr. "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. Southern Living "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." 28 of 40 Oscar Wilde Southern Living "Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much." 29 of 40 India Arie Simpson Let’s shake free this gravity of judgment, And fly high on the wings of forgiveness. - India Arie Simpson. Southern Living "Let's shake free this gravity of judgment, and fly high on the wings of forgiveness." 30 of 40 T. D. Jakes Southern Living "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." 31 of 40 Jewel Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend. - Jewel. Southern Living "Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend." 32 of 40 Roberto Assagioli Southern Living "Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation." 33 of 40 Nelson Mandela 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. Southern Living "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." 34 of 40 William Arthur Ward Southern Living "Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting." 35 of 40 Bruce Lee Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. - Bruce Lee. Southern Living "Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them." 36 of 40 Emma Goldman Southern Living "Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another." 37 of 40 Desmond Tutu Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions. - Desmond Tutu. Southern Living "Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions." 38 of 40 Iyanla Vanzant Southern Living "The remedy for life's broken pieces is not classes, workshops or books. Don't try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive." 39 of 40 Maya Angelou 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. Southern Living "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'." 40 of 40 Fred Rogers Southern Living "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." Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit