When someone asks me this question, I hear more than curiosity—I hear pain. Many of us walk through life carrying wounds that cannot be seen: betrayals, harsh words, broken trust, moments when love failed us. We try to be strong, but inside the hurt remains. It is very human to wonder whether forgiveness can really touch such deep places, or whether it is simply too much to ask of a wounded heart.
In the life and words of Jesus Christ, we see that forgiveness is never presented as denial of pain. Jesus never told people their suffering did not matter. Instead, He stepped directly into human brokenness and showed that love has the power to go where pain lives. On the Cross, He forgave even those who wounded Him most deeply. This tells us something important: forgiveness does not pretend the wound isn’t there—it opens the wound to God’s healing presence.
The Church gently teaches that when we forgive, something begins to change inside us. Forgiveness loosens the grip of resentment, anger, and bitterness that keep a wound open. Emotional pain often lingers because it is continually revisited in the heart. Forgiveness does not erase memory, but it transforms it. Slowly, the memory loses its power to control us. What once caused sharp pain becomes a scar—a sign of healing rather than a source of suffering.
In daily life, this healing usually comes gradually. Forgiveness is often a journey, not a single moment. Some days you may forgive with peace; other days the pain may return. That does not mean you have failed. Each time you choose forgiveness, even quietly in prayer, you allow God to work a little more deeply in your heart. Over time, many people discover that the wound no longer defines them. They are freer, lighter, and more able to love again.
Reflection
If you carry an emotional wound, bring it gently to God today. Ask not first for strength to forgive perfectly, but for the grace to begin. In that small opening of the heart, God’s healing love can quietly do what we cannot do alone.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way.
