“Love your enemies” – Learn how.

On the feast of Corpus Christi – The Body and Blood of Christ – last 'year', I sat immersed in the sense of oneness with the whole body of Christ, the people all around me at mass, while the hymn “We are one body” was being sung by the choir.

But some memories of a person I couldn't get along with, who had hurt me and was still the same arrogant personality to me and most around her was gnawing at my heart –‘What about her, Lord, how do I feel “One” with her? It seems impossible!”

And this was after I received communion and was conversing with Jesus and suddenly there flowed into my heart an inexplicable feeling of love for that person. Inexplicable at first, but then I soon made sense of that love – it was more a sorrow and I found myself tearing up as I thought of how she might suffer for what she had done, that is not as a punishment because Jesus already took that on himself, but what she would have to go through to make that change, come down from the heights of pride, arrogance and the humiliation that almost necessarily accompanies it, the pain, and who knows even a tragedy of some kind. And if unrepentant then almost certainly “just” punishment of some kind could take place. I felt a sadness at what her sins were doing to her.

I started praying for her and asking God to have mercy on her; and on me too for my self-pity. Yes, I was healed and I knew from then on that this is why, and more importantly this is the WAY we have to “LOVE our enemies,” (and “pray for those who persecute us.”) (Matt 5:44).

I was further convinced that this was the ‘way’ when a few days later I saw this in a book of St Francis of Assisi’ writings:

“Our Lord says in the Gospel,” says St Francis, “ ‘Love your enemies’. A man really loves his enemy when he is not offended by the injury done to himself but for love of God feels burning sorrow for the sin his enemy had brought on his own soul and proves his love in a practical way.” (The Admonitions, IX)

When anger turns to pity not for oneself but the one who offended you then, in Jesus, this is ‘loving’ your enemy and this works for me. Every time. What about you?

All praise be to the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ who's feast it is today June 2nd!  This took me one year to write and its is not without a coincidence that a wrote it on the eve of the feast day itself!