Lent, a Season for Forgiveness

During Lent our 7th Grade religion curriculum focuses on forgiveness and understanding. To show her students forgiveness at work in the real world our 7th grade Religion teacher, Mrs. Zannelli, invited Mrs. Patricia McDonald to speak about her very personal journey with forgiveness.

Mrs. McDonald is the widow of Stephen McDonald, and NYPD officer who was shot in the line of duty and lived 30 years as a quadriplegic.
As Mrs. McDonald spoke to an alert group of 7th graders she told them a story of love, prayer, hard work, hope, and forgiveness.

The 7th graders learned about the press conference where Officer McDonald announced he had forgiven the young man that had shot him.

Every 7th grader was given a copy of Why Forgive?, a book by Johann Christoph Arnold, with a foreword by Stephen McDonald. The book is a compilation of true stories that offer an irrefutable testimony to the power of forgiveness.