Healthy Living

Loving and Forgiving

by Stephen A. Peterson
10/09/25
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© 2025
by
Stephen A. Peterson

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

— Matthew 6:12 (NIV)

The Classroom Lessons That Lasted a Lifetime

When I look back on my time teaching Anthropology and Psychology at St. Gregory’s College in 1989, most of my memories are filled with laughter, learning, and deep joy. I was young, not much older than my students, and eager to share what I had learned about human behavior and culture.

Yet anyone who has taught college-aged students knows that joy often walks hand in hand with challenge. Guiding young adults—each full of opinions, emotions, and growing pains—requires not only knowledge but also patience and empathy. And yes, sometimes, a thick skin.

I can still recall the comments that echoed through the hallways:
• “The professor never bothers to speak to me!”
• “If you knew what I know about that student, you wouldn’t think she’s so great!”
• “Whose side are you on, anyway?”

Criticism, even when fair, stings. And I had to learn to step back, breathe, and remember that I could not be everything to everyone. Like anyone else, I made mistakes—spoke too sharply, overlooked someone’s hurt, or simply failed to listen.

Where Forgiveness Is Needed Most

What surprised me most over the years was not that such challenges existed in academia or politics, but that they also crept into the church. Among believers, we talk often about love, grace, and community, yet sometimes we struggle to forgive even the smallest wrongs.

It’s a sobering truth: people, no matter how faithful, can still be harsh or unforgiving. Yet, it was precisely within these struggles that I learned the deepest lessons of my faith. For it was there—in the pain, the misunderstanding, and the humility of apology—that forgiveness became real.

The Miracle of Letting Go

Forgiveness, I have found, is pure magic. It transforms the soul. I will never forget watching Erika Kirk look toward heaven after a tragedy and softly declare, “I forgive him.” That moment moved the world because it reflected the very heart of Christ’s teaching.

To forgive is not to excuse wrongdoing—it is to free ourselves from it. Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts we can ever give, not just to others, but to ourselves. It clears the fog from the heart, lifts the dread from the spirit, and restores the light of peace to the soul.

The Lesson I Never Forgot

Through my years of teaching, my military service, and my academic training, I have learned many disciplines. But my greatest lesson came much earlier—in my Catholic schooling. From those years, I carried forward one enduring truth:

No matter how small or great the offense—FORGIVE.

Every act of forgiveness is a mirror of divine love. It is through forgiving that we truly understand the mercy of God and rediscover the peace He offers us daily.

A Prayer for the Forgiving Heart

Almighty Father,
Through Your Beloved Son, Jesus the Christ,
You revealed the perfect plan of love and redemption.
Teach us that only through forgiving
Can we truly receive and feel Your unending forgiveness.
Amen.