"Unforgiveness is like drinking a poison and expecting the other person to die from it!"  These were the words of Rabbi Marc Gelman on Good Morning America following the Oklahoma City bombing.  What an accurate analogy.  I think we are all aware of the poison of unforgiveness, and how the poison affects the unforgiving one.  Even knowing that, forgiveness is never going to be easy, and it cannot happen without the mercy of God.  There are some hurts only God can heal.  There are some trespasses that can only be forgiven by God.  And if we move toward God, God can forgive through us.  But if we move into self and into our bitterness, God cannot follow.  So, I reflect on some acts of forgiveness that have moved me, and I pray for the mercy of God to be operative through me so that mercy may be mine.

Archbishop Oscar Romero, assassinated on March 24, 1980:
"You can tell the people that if they (the El Salvadoran military) succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it."

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Bud Welch, whose daughter Julie was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing:
"Every day for a year, I'd come by the fence that encircles the footprint of the Murrah building, where it once stood, where she died.  And during the first few months after the bombing, I was not opposed to the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh.  But as time has gone on, I've tried to think this out for myself.  Right now I'm trying to deal with forgiving.  I can't tell myself or anyone else that I've forgiven Timothy McVeigh, because I have not.  But my spiritual being tells me I have to deal with that.  And if he is sent to death row, or if he's executed, I won't be able to choose to forgive him.  As long as he's alive, I have to deal with my feelings and emotions.  I'm afraid that it's going to be a real struggle.  But it's a struggle I need to wage.  And I can't do that if he's dead."

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Lloyd LeBlanc, whose son was brutally murdered by Patrick Sonnier:
Before sitting in the electric chair, Patrick Sonnier had said, "Mr. LeBlanc, I want to ask your forgiveness for what me and Eddie done," and Lloyd LeBlanc had nodded his head, signaling a forgiveness he had already given.

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Narcisa Sibrian, an El Salvadoran woman who lost four sons and a daughter in the El Salvadoran Civil War:
"I forgive those who killed my children, and I have to forgive them because I want God to forgive me."

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Dianne Swaim, a woman who was brutally raped:
"My visit with him that night brought a phenomenal realization that God had indeed forgiven him through me.  The greatest miracle is that I was changed forever.  Forgiveness healed me and gave Robert another chance…"

Remember your mercies, O Lord.