“Have great love for those who cause you suffering. Do good to those who hate you. Be always merciful as I am merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies.” (Christ to Saint Faustina).
I have been reflecting on one of the most famous passages of the Gospel (Matthew 5:43-48), in which Christ told us to love our enemies…
You see, it is one thing to speak in an abstract manner about loving one’s enemy, and quite another to actually feel love and show love to a person who does not act kindly towards you. It is easy enough to imagine myself acting lovingly to an enemy, but quite another to act so in reality, with the enemy themselves spitting in my face – so to speak. And yet, there is great reward – eternal reward – to be had in undertaking this extraordinary task…
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?... You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
You see, Christ told us that if we love our enemies, we take after our Heavenly Father… And this means that miserable souls like mine can become more GOD-LIKE all the time!
In 2002, when a young man, Eric Smallridge was drink-driving, he hit and killed a couple of young girls (Meagan Napier and Lisa Dickson) and he was sentenced to prison for 22 years. Smallridge thought about ending his life. But, Meagan’s mother forgave and embraced him at the trial. Eventually both families forgave and embraced this young man to the point where the Napier and Dickson families asked to have Smallridge’s sentence reduced. Eric has spent the remainder of his life speaking out against drink driving. You see, in forgiving Smallridge, those families were able to change the world… And that is the power of forgiveness.
And there are other examples of course. The Abdullah family have been very vocal in forgiving the man who killed their children and niece while inebriated with drugs and alcohol. And it is such a marvel – this forgiveness of an enemy – that the world stops to consider it…
And yet, Christ – God Himself – does not take it easy on us. He does not say, “It is okay, do not worry. That was a pretty big offence. Do not forgive that one. That was a really bad one. Just forgive the easy ones…” No. Christ says to us what He said to Saint Faustina, and which she recorded in her Diary… “Have great love for those who cause you suffering. Do good to those who hate you. Be always merciful as I am merciful. Love everyone out of love for Me, even your greatest enemies.”
And He told her this because He knows that each enemy we have is an opportunity to accept MORE Grace from God and to FORGIVE. And when I really stop and think about it, I have to wonder why I make all that fuss about forgiveness, when it is just another chance to soak up a little more GRACE?
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.