Contrition
The most powerful words that we can use in all of human language are: I’m sorry; or I forgive you. When Jesus was nailed to the hard wood of the cross, in the throes of pain and suffering, He prayed to God: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Contrition can put us in right and holy relationship with God and others, and is a fresh beginning, a clean slate, and a new opportunity to use words to heal.
-Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE