111 Quotes About Forgiveness That Will Inspire You to Let It Go and Move On

All of us have experienced it: the deep cuts that go along with being hurt by someone else, emotionally or physically. When that kind of personal affront takes place, it’s easy to grab onto that pain and suffering and let those wounds fester. But eventually, we become so beaten down by the family drama, workplace tension, toxic friendships, broken heart, past regret, or whatever else it is that is taking up precious space in our minds and hearts.

That's where these forgiveness quotes come in. It takes a lot of grace, mental strength and courage to practice forgiveness—either toward the person who has wronged you or to yourself. While you may never forget how you were hurt, by forgiving, you are taking steps toward healing yourself—spiritually, emotionally and mentally.

We hope this list of inspirational quotes about forgiveness helps you find the inner strength to let go of the past and look toward a brighter future.

111 Forgiveness Quotes

1. “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” — Mother Teresa

2. “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” ― Oscar Wilde

3. “How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.” ― Publilius Syrus

4. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” — William A. Ward

5. “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., A Gift of Love

6. “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” — Thomas Szasz“

7. “Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge.” — Edward Hubbell Chapin

8. Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

9. “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

10. “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” — Maya Angelou

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11. “Forgive, forget. Bear with the faults of others as you would have them bear with yours.” — Phillip Brooks

12. “The man who opts for revenge should dig two graves.” — Chinese Proverb

13. “Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember than to forgive and forget.” — Maria Edgeworth, An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification

14, “True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘Thank you for that experience.’” — Oprah Winfrey

15. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” — Buddha

16. “Forgiveness is the needle that knows how to mend.” — Jewel, “Under the Water”

17. “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 XIV

18. “Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.” — Indira Gandhi

19. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” — Mahatma Gandhi

20, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ― Lewis B. Smedes, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve

21. “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” — Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism

22. “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, Wisdom from the World According to Mister Rogers

23. “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, Long Walk to Freedom

24. “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, The Storyteller

25. “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, “Just The Two of Us”

26. “Take forgiveness slowly. Don’t blame yourself for being slow. Peace will come.” — Yoko Ono

27. “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.” — Cherie Carter-Scott

28. “Forgiveness is a reflection of loving yourself enough to move on.” — Dr. Steve Maraboli

29. “Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie

30. “Forgiveness is healing... especially forgiving yourself.” — Alyson Noel, Evermore

31. “Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.” — Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee’s Wisdom for Daily Living

32. “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

33. “Forgiveness is not weak. It takes courage to face and overcome powerful emotions.” — Desmond Tutu

34. “There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” — Bryant H. McGill

35. “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.” — Marianne Williamson

36. “Let’s shake free this gravity of judgment, and fly high on the wings of forgiveness.” — India.Arie, “Wings of Forgiveness”

Related: 101 Breakup Quotes to Help You Move On

37. “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” — Paul Lewis Boese

38. “Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.” ― William Arthur Ward

39. “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

40. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ― Mark Twain

41. “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

42. “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

43. “Forgotten is forgiven.” ― Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up

44. “Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals.” — Thomas S. Manson

45. “Before we can forgive one another, we have to understand one another.” ― Emma Goldman

46. “Without forgiveness, life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” — Roberto Assagioli

47. “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

48. “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

49. “We may not know how to forgive, and we may not want to forgive; but the very fact we say we are willing to forgive begins the healing practice.” — Louise Hay

50. “When you forgive, you in no way change the past—but you sure do change the future.” ― Bernard Meltzer

51. “When we don’t forgive, we’re not hurting the other person. We’re not hurting the company that did us wrong. We’re not hurting God. We’re only hurting ourselves.” — Joel Osteen

52. “We ask for forgiveness, and we forgive others who ask us. In that way, we can experience healing, healing in our souls.” — Ed Dobson

53. “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, Forgiveness Made Easy

54. “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, A Grandmother’s Legacy

55. “We are not perfect, forgive others as you would want to be forgiven.” — Catherine Pulsifer

56. “Let us forgive each other—only then will we live in peace.” — Leo Tolstoy

57. “Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.” — Lily Tomlin

58. “Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a commitment. It is a choice to show mercy, not to hold the offense up against the offender. Forgiveness is an expression of love.” — Gary Chapman

59. “Real forgiveness is a lifelong commitment. You must practice it every day.” — Richard Daly, God’s Little Book of Joy

60. “He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven.” — George Herbert

61. “When you choose to forgive those who have hurt you, you take away their power.” — Anonymous

62. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” ― John F. Kennedy

63. "The hardest thing in life is to forgive. But hate is self-destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. Forgiveness is healing.”— Louis Zamperini, Don't Give Up, Don't Give In

64. “When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.” — Alan Paton

65. “One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it's left behind.” — Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit

66. “Forgiveness isn’t approving what happened. It’s choosing to rise above it.” – Robin Sharma

Related: 13 Ways to Forgive Yourself—Even When You've Messed Up Big Time

67. "There are always people who can't forgive an able man for differing from them.” — George Eliot

68. “When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow.” — Anonymous

69. “Forgiveness is a powerful expression of the love within our soul.” — Anthony Douglas

70. “Because I make mistakes, I know others do too. I've found when I give forgiveness, it's me—not the other person—who benefits.” — Ellen Miller, The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends

71. “Your past may be painful, yet you must forgive, move on, and thank God for it. Your past has become a learning experience for you to become a better person and father.” — Martin Henderson, Fatherhood: A Message to Men

72. “Forgiveness is the final form of love.” ― Reinhold Niebuhr

73. “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, You'll See It When You Believe It

74. “Anger begets more anger, and forgiveness and love lead to more forgiveness and love.” — Mahavira

75. “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness; those are life-altering lessons.” — Jessica Lange

76. “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

77. “By having a forgiving attitude, you can change your life and the lives of the people you care about most.” — Kathie M. Thomson, Managing the Blended Family

78. “One forgives to the degree that one loves.” — François de La Rochefoucauld

79. “Forgiveness is not something we do for other people. It’s something we do for ourselves to move on.” — Anonymous

80. “Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

81. “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ― S. Lewis

82. “When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.”
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

83. “A heart filled with anger has no room for love.” ― Joan Lunden, Wake-Up Calls: Making the Most Out of Every Day

84. “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” ― Abraham Lincoln

85. “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, The Poisonwood Bible

86. “Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” ― Hannah Arendt

87. “No matter how much you love someone—the capacity of that love is meaningless if it outweighs your capacity to forgive.” ― Colleen Hoover, All Your Perfects

Related: 100 Quotes About Taking Care of Yourself

88. “To forgive is wisdom. To forget is genius. Because it’s true. It’s a new world every heartbeat.” — Joyce Cary, The Horse’s Mouth

89. “But remember that forgiveness too is a power. To beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest.” — Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

90. “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” — William P. Young, The Shack

91. “There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” ― Josh Billings

92. “We win by tenderness. We conquer by forgiveness.” — Frederick William Robertson

93. “The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.” — Robert Downey Jr.

94. “You’ll never know how strong your heart is until you learn to forgive who broke it.” – Anonymous

95. “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, Clippings From My Notebook

96. “One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.” ― Socrates

97. “It’s not just other people we need to forgive. We also need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done.” ― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

98. “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” — Robert Quillen

99. “I'm not perfect. Remember that and try to forgive me when I fail you.” ― Elizabeth Lowell, Sweet Wind, Wild Wind

100. “You cannot forgive just once; forgiveness is a daily practice.” ― Sonia Rumzi

101. “True forgiveness is not an action after the fact. It is an attitude with which you enter each moment.” — David Ridge

102. “Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.” — Ben Greenhalgh

103. “A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.” — Stephen Richards

104. “Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.” — Marlene Dietrich

105. “The man who forgives is far stronger than the man who fights.” — Nathan Croall

106. “If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.” — Robert Brault

107. “Forgiveness keeps you from being bound by something the other person might never set right.” — Tony Evans

108. “You don't need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” — Guy Finley

109. “When one forgives, two souls are set free.” — Anonymous

110. “As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.” — Isabelle Holland

111. “Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” — Ivern Ball

Next, read these Bible verses about forgiveness.