Forgiveness News
Study Finds Forgiveness is Good for Your Heart
ZeeNews.com – Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have discovered that people who let go of their anger and forgive were less likely to see spikes in blood pressure. That’s good news, the researchers say, because longer periods of high blood pressure or hypertension increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
The study, published in the Journal of Biobehavioural Medicines, found that forgiveness could “lower reactivity” to stressful events and even offer “sustained protection” from the physical impact.
The study asked over 200 volunteers to think about a time when a friend had offended them. Half of the group were told to think about how it had angered them while the other half were encouraged to consider it in a more forgiving way.
The participants were then all distracted for five minutes after which they were told to think about the event again in any way they chose.
The participants were wired up to monitors, which took blood pressure and heart rate readings. The team, led by Dr. Britta Larsen, found the angry group saw the greatest increase in blood pressure compared to the forgiving group after the first ruminating session.
Shooting Victim Seeks to Forgive Unknown Offender
Daily Times of Pennsylvania – Shakiyl Smith was just 17 years old when he was shot in the back in August 2008 at a party in the city. An altercation broke out. Smith and others got in a car to leave. At that point someone opened fire on the car.
Smith has been in a wheelchair ever since.
The shooter has never been identified. Smith does not know who pulled the trigger that put him in a wheelchair. He certainly would like to, but not for the reason you might suspect.
Smith has no interest in revenge; he seeks to forgive.
Smith is asking immunity for the offender, but will the district attorney’s office grant the amnesty? Read more.
Colorado Shooting Victim Offers Forgiveness
National Catholic Reporter – Aurora, CO, theater shooting victim Pierce O’Farrill, who survived after being shot three times, has offered his forgiveness to James Holmes, the alleged shooter. Twelve people were killed and 58 more injured when a gunman entered the theater during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and opened fire on the crowd.
Shortly after emerging from surgery, O’Farrill was interviewed by radio host Todd Schnitt. Asked what he would say to Holmes, O’Farrill responded, “I’m truly blessed to have forgiveness in my heart, and I do forgive him completely for what he’s done.”
“I honestly would like to see him. I would like to talk to him. I’m a man of deeply devoted faith,” O’Farrill explained. “Jesus is my world, and Jesus is how I get through every single day; and that’s how I got through this ordeal.”
O’Farrill said that he has been praying for Holmes, and if he had the chance to speak with him, “the first words that I would say are: ‘I forgive you, James.'”
The 28-year-old, who works as the vehicle donation coordinator for the Denver Rescue Mission, said that he “was blessed” to survive the shooting and emphasized that what happened was “not God’s fault.”
He also said that he believes Holmes should receive life in prison rather than the death penalty.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver, said that O’Farrill’s willingness to forgive such a “heinous evil” shows “the depth of his faith.”
Archbishop Aquila stressed that while it might take time, forgiveness is important in ultimately healing the wounds left by sin and avoiding continued resentment and bitterness.
“Forgiveness for the Christian is absolutely essential,” he said. “We have to remember that Jesus Christ himself died a violent death and that he forgave from the cross.”
Forgiving the Man Who Killed Her Mother
Banning, CA, Record Gazette – A California woman is offering forgiveness to the man who shot and killed her mother 22 years ago when he was high on crack cocaine.
Becky Johnson, who was 16 at the time of her mother’s death, responded to the tragedy by turning to the streets: she joined a gang; she started dealing and doing drugs; she would rob people for money to get more drugs. She admittedly had no regard for people, or for human life.
“I was trying to find peace in alcohol, in drugs, in gangs. I didn’t find it,” Johnson says. What she did eventually find, however, was a charismatic pastor, Dolores Nesbit. Pastor Nesbit helped Johnson find compassion, and encouraged her to forgive those who have wronged her–particularly the man who killed her mother.
“Over the years, I’ve done so many things out of hate,” Johnson says. “Now, I myself need to be forgiven. And the first step is to forgive the man that killed my mother. I’m tired of living this monstrous story. I’ve learned so much through my church: how to forgive; if you don’t do that, then, the Book of Mark says, you’ll block your own blessings.”
Over the past few years, Johnson turned her life around. She married. She’s now a licensed massage therapist, and she’s training for the ministry, planning to take her story of forgiveness and share her message with people around the world. As far as the man who killed her mother, Johnson says he will likely be released from prison within the year and she intends to be there to greet him with open arms.
Becky Johnson’s mother, Clara, was remembered as a woman who loved everyone and who had no known enemies. Who would want to kill her? When Becky discovered four days after her mother’s murder that both her mother and the killer were high on crack cocaine the night Clara was killed, she had a complete breakdown. After years on the street and succumbing to drugs herself, Becky straightened out her life and credits her ability to forgive for the turnaround.
Man Forgives Assailant Who Killed His Wife and Daughter
ABC News – Forgiveness was the message Thursday from a Las Vegas father and boxing coach who was nearly bludgeoned to death in a home invasion hammer attack that left his wife and their daughter dead in their home almost three months ago.
“I forgive this murderer because of my faith in God and in Jesus Christ,” Arturo Martinez said. “Because I have to forgive him doesn’t take my pain away. Because I have to forgive him doesn’t mean that he will not be held accountable to God and the American judicial system. . . including the death penalty, if that is how he is sentenced.”
Martinez’s statement came 88 days after he was knocked unconscious for more than 12 hours following the home invasion in which Martinez’s wife and 10-year-old daughter were sexually assaulted and killed early April 15.
Police later arrested Bryan Devonte Clay Jr., 22, a stranger to the family. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and other charges and awaits trial next June. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.
