Website of the Week
Sunday, 9th August 2026
Forgiveness: The Art of Letting Go
Sunday, 9th August 2026
Forgiveness: The Art of Letting Go
Image: St Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (St Francis receives the stigmata) by Caravaggio (c.1595). Courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT.
“St Francis of Assisi entered pain and suffering rather than trying to avoid it. This wasn’t an act of moral achievement or heroic obedience. It didn’t feel like winning, but more like losing, dying, and letting go. The religious word for letting go is forgiveness. Forgiveness is giving up your investment in and identification with your own painful story. This comes from a deep place of inner freedom and awareness of goodness—God’s, your own, and the goodness of the person you choose to forgive.”
These words are from Richard Rohr, the internationally renowned Franciscan friar, author and spiritual teacher. They are a preface to ‘The Welcoming Prayer’ - a valuable practice of letting go and forgiving.
To read Fr Rohr's short reflection on this valuable practice, click on the image and scroll down to Practice: The Welcoming Prayer.
“St Francis of Assisi entered pain and suffering rather than trying to avoid it. This wasn’t an act of moral achievement or heroic obedience. It didn’t feel like winning, but more like losing, dying, and letting go. The religious word for letting go is forgiveness. Forgiveness is giving up your investment in and identification with your own painful story. This comes from a deep place of inner freedom and awareness of goodness—God’s, your own, and the goodness of the person you choose to forgive.”
These words are from Richard Rohr, the internationally renowned Franciscan friar, author and spiritual teacher. They are a preface to ‘The Welcoming Prayer’ - a valuable practice of letting go and forgiving.
To read Fr Rohr's short reflection on this valuable practice, click on the image and scroll down to Practice: The Welcoming Prayer.