“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
Is there any teaching more difficult than that? Are there any words uttered by Jesus that cause us to cringe more? Or feel guiltier?
How can I love the person who makes my life so difficult? How can I love someone who wallows in vice, perpetrates evil, hates God? Shouldn’t I pray for their downfall?
Perhaps we are forgetting to ask ourselves a far more important question: What does it mean to truly love your enemies, as God intended?
Maybe the reason this teaching has become so difficult to grasp and practice is that largely, we as a species no longer understand what it means to “love”. Contrary to the culture, love is not just a feeling. It’s not just an emotional response to something that makes you feel warm inside. But how fortunate that is. In many cases, it would be impossible to force ourselves to feel this way toward an enemy, or someone who makes our life or the lives of others more difficult.
Rather, to love is to choose and will the good of another. To love is to see an enemy as an opportunity to bring another soul closer to Christ. That soul may be steeped in faults and shortcomings, but as St. Josemaría says, “If you have so many defects, why are you surprised to find defects in others?” (The Way, 446) Just as we pray to grow closer to God, we should pray that our enemies find their way to Him as well.
As we see on the cross and everywhere throughout our fallen world, suffering is the price of love. Love – real love – requires sacrifice and pain. By its very definition, it demands them. So love your enemies through it all: inconveniences, annoyances, obnoxious behavior, scorn, rebuke, and all injustices.
But do not go into “battle” unarmed. Equip yourself through prayer! “Come, Holy Spirit!”
Reject the temptation to fight your enemies with anger, revenge, gossip, slander, bitterness, and hatred. And instead, fortify yourself with virtue, for God has given us peace, humility, obedience, joy, charity, and even silence.
This week, during our 2026 Give Hope Pledge Drive, when you make a gift of $365 – $599, you will receive a copy of The Greatest Commandment by Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. This book is a timeless guide that reveals how loving God and neighbor more deeply transforms relationships, heals division, and brings lasting peace to the heart.
Give Now!
If you have already given to our Give Hope Pledge Drive, thank you for your generous support!