Pardon Me! It’s September 8th

Linda Ann Nickerson

Today is Pardon Day. This heartfelt holiday recognizes a Presidential pardon, offered on this date in 1974. U.S. President Gerald R. Ford extended official forgiveness to his predecessor, Richard M. Nixon for any involvement in the 1972 Watergate scandal.

Happy Pardon Day on September 8th!
Happy Pardon Day on September 8th!

"Pardon me," we casually say, when we step on another's toe or perhaps let slip a hiccup or belch in polite company. "I beg your pardon," we utter, if we cannot hear what someone has said.

Isn't pardoning much more than that?

True pardoning is an extending of personal grace, restoring a broken relationship and freeing both the wrongdoer and the one wronged from guilt and bitterness. A genuine pardon keeps no scores, holds no strings attached, foster no guilt trips and buries the proverbial hatchet forever.

Verily, the pardoner may be both Mended and Commended.

Whew! What freedom!

And, geez. Who doesn't need a little more freedom?

"I haven't broken any of the Ten Commandments," one might say. I know I surely have. Just take a look!

Who can you pardon today? From whom might you seek forgiveness?

Here are a few favorite quotations on forgiveness and pardon:

  • "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." (John F. Kennedy, 35 th U.S. President)

  • "Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much." (Oscar Wilde, author and humorist)

  • "Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave." (Indira Ghandi, Indian Prime Minister)

  • "Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again." (St. Augustine)

  • "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy." (St. Francis of Assisi)

  • "We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature." (Voltaire, French Enlightenment author)

Happy Pardon Day on September 8 th !

Don't feel like pardoning or being pardoned today?

So sorry.

More from Linda Ann:

A Glimmer of Grace

Atlanta Shopper Forgives Child Slapper

Knoxville Zoo's Trainer-killing Elephant Forgiven

No Trace of Grace