May 2025 Message & Motivation
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After listening to the message, continue to consider the words: Forgive, Compassion & Grace
Review the definitions (all from Merriam-Webster Dictionary) and etymology (all from Etymonline) below.
Meditate on the images.
See what comes up and continue your work from there.
Forgive (verb)
Definition
for·give fər-ˈgiv
1: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon
2a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital (see requital sense 1) for
2b: to grant relief from payment of
Etymology
Middle English foryeven, from Old English forgiefan "give, grant, allow; remit (a debt), pardon (an offense)," also "give up" and "give in marriage" (past tense forgeaf, past participle forgifen); from for-, here probably "completely," + giefan "to give" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive").
The sense of "to give up desire or power to punish" (late Old English) is from use of such a compound as a Germanic loan-translation of Vulgar Latin *perdonare (Old Saxon fargeban, Dutch vergeven, German vergeben "to forgive," Gothic fragiban "to grant;" and see pardon (n.)). Related: Forgave; forgiven; forgiving.
Compassion (noun)
Definition
com·pas·sion kəm-ˈpa-shən
sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it
Etymology
"feeling of sorrow or deep tenderness for one who is suffering or experiencing misfortune," mid-14c., compassioun, literally "a suffering with another," from Old French compassion "sympathy, pity" (12c.), from Late Latin compassionem (nominative compassio) "sympathy," noun of state from past-participle stem of compati "to feel pity," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pati "to suffer" (see passion).
Latin compassio is an ecclesiastical loan-translation of Greek sympatheia (see sympathy). Sometimes in Middle English it meant a literal sharing of affliction or suffering with another. An Old English loan-translation of compassion was efenðrowung.
Grace (noun)
Definition
ˈgrās
1a: unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
1b: a virtue coming from God
1c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance
2a: approval, favor
2b: archaic : mercy, pardon
2c: a special favor : privilege
2d: disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
2e: a temporary exemption : reprieve
3a: a charming or attractive trait or characteristic
3b: a pleasing appearance or effect : charm
3c: ease and suppleness (see supple entry 1 sense 2b) of movement or bearing
4—used as a title of address or reference for a duke, a duchess, or an archbishop
5: a short prayer at a meal asking a blessing or giving thanks
6 Graces plural : three sister goddesses in Greek mythology who are the givers of charm and beauty
7: a musical trill, turn, or appoggiatura
8a: sense of propriety or right
8b: the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful
Etymology
late 12c., "God's unmerited favor, love, or help," from Old French grace "pardon, divine grace, mercy; favor, thanks; elegance, virtue" (12c., Modern French grâce), from Latin gratia "favor, esteem, regard; pleasing quality, good will, gratitude" (source of Italian grazia, Spanish gracia; in Church use translating Greek kharisma), from gratus "pleasing, agreeable" (reconstructed in Watkins to be from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwere- (2) "to favor").
The sense of "virtue" is attested by early 14c., that of "beauty of form or movement, pleasing quality" by mid-14c. In the classical sense, "one of the three sister goddesses (Latin Gratiæ, Greek Kharites), bestowers of beauty and charm," it is in English by 1579 in Spenser.
In music, "an embellishment not essential to the melody or harmony," 1650s. As the name of the short prayer that is said before or after a meal (early 13c.; until 16c. usually graces) it has a sense of "gratitude." As a title of honor, c. 1500.
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