Quotes of the Day for February 20, 2026 – Thoughts on forgiveness as it relates to communion with God and each other
- 2 days ago
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Updated: 4 hours ago
“…when we pray for the living, the very heart of our prayer is for the forgiveness of their sins. Not because we’re aware of some rules which they have broken, but because the forgiveness of sin, the restoration of communion with God, is the source of every good thing, without which nothing can be good or well. When we pray for those who have died and the forgiveness of their sins, we are asking the same thing, for their communion with God, whether broken or impaired, to be made whole.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“…because sin is a universal, painful reality that means the alienation and separation of man from God. If a person realizes his sin and asks for God’s forgiveness, it should not paralyze him and plunge him into despair, but on the contrary, through repentance new energy should awaken in him to struggle with sin and do good. The pain of sin is eventually transformed into victory through the Resurrection of Christ.” (Metropolitan Seraphim Joanta)
“Secondly, the perception of forgiveness as the restoration of relations. First and foremost, a person’s relationship with God Himself is restored. The Old Testament is replete of examples of how God, despite the sins of His people, forgives them and restores the broken covenant relationship. For example, the Book of Isaiah says, Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Is. 1:18). This forgiveness not only cleanses, but also brings people back to a state of intimacy with God. However, forgiveness as a means of restoring relationships is not limited only to our bond with God. It also concerns relationships between people. Sin not only separates a person from God, but also destroys unity in human society, fostering hostility, distrust and alienation. Through the forgiveness offered in Christ, people are empowered to rebuild broken ties, learn to forgive each other and live in peace and unity. As the Apostle Paul says, For He [Christ] is our peace, Who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us (Eph. 2:14).” (Nikolai Gerasimov)
“Sin only has the power in our lives that we allow it to have, and we must all embrace the eternal journey of opening ourselves fully to the Savior’s restoration of our humanity. Since we all bear God’s image and likeness, the path to such blessedness is open to us all if we will take the small steps of which we are capable each day through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, forgiveness, repentance, and the other basic spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. We must cultivate the mindfulness that is necessary to resist the personal disintegration that comes from identifying ourselves with our passions. That is not easy because often nothing is more appealing in the moment that wallowing in pride, anger, lust, resentment, and other distorted desires to the point that we have more in common with pigs at a trough than with the man after his deliverance, when he sat “at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“Christianity is the religion of faces… To be a Christian is to discover, even at the very heart of nothingness and of death, a face which is forever open like a door of light – the face of Christ — and surrounding Him, penetrated with His light, His tenderness, the faces of sinners who have been forgiven and who no longer judge others, but simply welcome them into their hearts. The word ‘Gospel’ (Godspel) means the proclamation of the joy of the ‘Good news’!” (Olivier Clement)