Reconciliation Quotes

• In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.

  Nelson Mandela

  Spiritual, Heart, People

  Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.65, Simon and Schuster

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• True reconciliation is never cheap, for it is based on forgiveness which is costly. Forgiveness in turn depends on repentance, which has to be based on an acknowledgment of what was done wrong, and therefore on disclosure of the truth. You cannot forgive what you do not know.

  Desmond Tutu

  Forgiving, Done, Repentance

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• I remain convinced that most human conflicts can be solved through genuine dialogue conducted with a spirit of openness and reconciliation.

  Dalai Lama

  Spirit, Conflict, Genuine

  Dalai Lama's Speech to the European Parliament, tibet.net. October 24, 2001.

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• Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.

  Desmond Tutu

  Hurt, Real, Healing

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• It is not "forgive and forget" as if nothing wrong had ever happened, but "forgive and go forward," building on the mistakes of the past and the energy generated by reconciliation to create a new future.

  Alan Paton

  Moving On, Forgiveness, Mistake

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• Emphasize reconciliation, not resolution. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to agree about everything. Reconciliation focuses on the relationship, while resolution focuses on the problem. When we focus on reconciliation, the problem loses significance and often becomes irrelevant.

  Rick Warren

  Focus, Unrealistic Expectations, Problem

  Rick Warren (2012). “The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?”, p.143, Zondervan

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• Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

  Winston Churchill

  Inspirational, Motivational, Strength

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• Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

  Nhat Hanh

  Buddhist, Suffering, Mutual Understanding

  Thich Nhat Hanh (2008). “Being Peace: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition”, p.98, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• We must not only speak about forgiveness and reconciliation, we must act on these principles.

  Desmond Tutu

  Principles, Speak

  Desmond Tutu, John Webster (1982). “Bishop Desmond Tutu, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: a collection of his recent statements in the struggle for justice in South Africa”

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• Reconciliation is more beautiful than victory.

  Violeta Chamorro

  Beautiful, Victory

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• Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the ‘fight with fire’ method...is bitterness and chaos, the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community...Yes , love-which means understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill, even for one’s enemies-is the solution

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Hate, Mean, Fighting

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• One minute of reconciliation is worth more than a whole life of friendship!

  Gabriel Garcia Marquez

  Forgive And Forget, One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Minutes

  "Gabriel Garcia Marquez: What I've Learned" by Cal Fussman, www.esquire.com. April 18, 2014.

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• There is no reconciliation until you recognize the dignity of the other, until you see their view- you have to enter into the pain of the people. You've got to feel their need.

  John M. Perkins

  Inspirational, Sympathy, Pain

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• As we are set free by that love from our own pride and fear, our own greed and arrogance, so we are free in our turn to be agents of reconciliation and hope, or healing and love.

  N. T. Wright

  Healing, Pride, Greed

  N. T. Wright (2014). “For All God's Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church”, p.56, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

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• Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

  Mark Twain

  Inspirational, Life, Bullying

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• It is faith that looks up at the creator God and knows him to be the God of love. And it is faith that looks out at the world with the longing to bring that love to bear in healing reconciliation, and hope.

  N. T. Wright

  Healing, Creator God, Looks

  N. T. Wright (2014). “For All God's Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church”, p.45, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

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• The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West . . . But Christ came to bring about reconciliation and peace.

  Billy Graham

  Our World, White, Numbers

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• If there is to be reconciliation, first there must be truth.

  Timothy B. Tyson

  Firsts, Ifs

  Timothy B. Tyson (2004). “Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story”, Crown Pub

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• True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past.

  Nelson Mandela

  Past, Doe, Forget

  Nelson Mandela (1996*). “Statement of the National Executive Committee of the ANC on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the African National Congress: January 8 1996”

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• Forgiveness is the key that can unshackle us from a past that will not rest in the grave of things over and done with. As long as our minds are captive to the memory of having been wronged, they are not free to wish for reconciliation with the one who wronged us.

  Lewis B. Smedes

  Memories, Past, Keys

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• May the God of peace arouse in all an authentic desire for dialogue and reconciliation. Violence cannot be overcome with violence. Violence is overcome with peace.

  Pope Francis

  Desire, Overcoming, May

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• The goal of pursuit of justice must not simply be that justice happens but that reconciliation also happens.

  Miroslav Volf

  Agreement, Law, Justice

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• In the silence of the Cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue and peace is spoken.

  Pope Francis

  Silence, Weapons, Language

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• Reconciliation requires changes of heart and spirit, as well as social and economic change. It requires symbolic as well as practical action.

  Malcolm Fraser

  Heart, Spirit, Action

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• But if the world is watching, we might as well tell the truth. And the truth is, the church doesn't offer a cure. It doesn't offer a quick fix. The church offers death and resurrection. The church offers the messy, inconvenient, gut-wrenching, never-ending work of healing and reconciliation.

  Rachel Held Evans

  Healing, Church, Might

  Rachel Held Evans (2015). “Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church”, p.209, Thomas Nelson Inc

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