Examples of personal forgiveness
It can be difficult to understand how some people can forgive those who have harmed them in a serious way. Below are some examples of personal forgiveness.
Pope John Paul II
In 1981, whilst in St. Peter鈥檚 Square, the Pope was shot at several times, two shots hit the Pope whilst a further two shots hit bystanders. Mehmet Ali A臒ca, a Turkish national, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. During his time in prison the Pope visited him and in 2000 the Pope requested that Mehmet be To forgive..
When the Pope visited Mehmet in 1983 he asked that the faithful pray for my brother... whom I have sincerely forgiven.
Maureen Greaves
Maureen Greaves鈥 husband Alan was attacked in 2012 by two men on his way to Midnight Mass. He later died from his injuries.
My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the God who made him in his own image and that God鈥檚 great mercy will inspire them to true repentance.
Martin Stephens
Martin Stephens forgave his twin brother who stabbed their mother to death after going in to a drink-fuelled rage. Martin's twin, Mark, stabbed his mother 38 times in their home in Pencoed, south Wales and then covered her body.
Martin, although he was the innocent twin, faced insults and abuse from the community, who wrongly thought that he had killed his mother. Martin decided to forgive his brother, as he did not want to spend his life being bitter and angry. Martin said that once he had made the decision he felt "100% better".
Michael McGoldrick
Michael McGoldrick is a Catholic from Northern Ireland. When his grown-up son was shot dead, he and his wife contemplated suicide as a way of coping with their grief. However, just in time, a vision of Christ on the cross came to Michael, and he and his wife changed their minds.
It hit me that God鈥檚 Son, too, had been murdered 鈥 for us. I knew that what we planned to do was wrong. It still amazes me how God intervened in a miraculous way to change our minds.
On the day of his son's funeral, Michael felt able to forgive the killers and wrote down the words "Forgive them". He felt that on that day God had sent him a message of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.