"Our will -freely choosing to hold on to anger, bitterness, resentment, and hostility - becomes an impenetrable fortress preventing God's life from entering our heart, which, through the privation of grace, becomes stony, hard, and cold. This interior reality eventually affects all aspects of our being." Johnnette Benkovic

For Reflection: How is our free will an integral part of the forgiveness process? What am I choosing in relation to those who have disappointed, hurt, offended, or injured me? Is my heart stony, hard, and cold toward them? How is this affecting me in other ways?