Notes on Forgiveness taken from Thought for the Day 20[th] July  by Rev Roy Jenkins.
Marueen Greaves, the widow of Alan Greaves the church organist battered to death on his way to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 2011, has spoken of her forgiveness for the two young men who did it. 
 She prayed that they would experience the love & mercy of God and find repentance. 
Too easy to say to someone," well just forgive them"  Is that a required formality masking denial. 
Maureen Greaves felt a deep need to be able to forgive, following the example of Jesus who forgave his killer almost  with his =dying breath or  Stephen on his martyrdom.   But this does not mean we have to suppress anger or avoid the need for justice and punishment.
Forgiveness is no soft option
What we are doing is seeking the best interests of those who have committed the wrong.
God's desire to forgive, and our need to do the same.   The God who forgives knows our hearts better than we do. Act of forgiving is an act of release for those who grieve. 

Rwandan student who said  " If you hear anyone talking about forgiveness lightly, it means he's never forgiven. " 

