Homily by Father Paul

The Winter of my third year as a priest, I decided to grow my beard for the first time as a priest.  An elderly woman named Angela had been away for a month. When she came to daily Mass as was her custom, she came up to me after Mass and raised her voice.  “I want you to know that I gate beards, especially on priests!  I will not speak to you until you shave it!”  The next day was the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.  I preached about how unlikely a person this persecutor of Christians was to become perhaps the greatest missionary in Church history.  But God looked inside the man and saw what the great Saint he could become and be with God’s grace.  The next morning, she apologized to me, gave me a caked she made me as well as the gold K of C ring that had been her deceased husbands.

This experience might provide us with a reason why Jesus expects us to love our enemies. Had I screamed at Angela that day or stormed out of the church without saying a word, she would’ve felt justified in her prejudice. Instead, by my treating her civilly, she could compare my behavior with her own.

Last Sunday I preached on what to do when anger surges in our hearts and minds to keep us from losing our temper: pause, ponder, pray, and plan how to deal with anger in a healthy and Christ-like way. When we hear Jesus command to love our enemies, we have to ask ourselves what do we do when we find it very difficult or next to impossible to love an enemy?  This is something virtually each one of us have had to struggle with at times in our lives.  Here are three steps we can take to help us do as Jesus commands us.

First, we can ask God for the grace we need to forgive that person. The same Jesus who orders us to love our enemies will give us the help to do so.  Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean we have to like the other person, but that we sincerely want what is best for him or her.

Next, besides asking God to help us, we can pray for our enemy’s well-being.  We can do what Jesus did on the Cross when he prayed for those who put him to a most painful death.  Many times, this practice helps both us and the one we pray for.

Finally, we can try to see the other person’s point of view.  An old saying reminds us not to judge another until you walk a mile in their shoes.  We can also try to see them as God sees them — as someone flawed and fallen and for whom Jesus died on the Cross.

Love your enemies?  Can Jesus be serious?  Make no mistake about this.

  • If we bear grudges,
  • if we hate someone,
  • if we refuse to forgive a person,
  • if we won’t speak to another,
  • if we refuse to love…..
  • we are not holy, we are not true followers of Jesus, and God will hold us accountable.  The Lord IS kind and merciful and expects us to do the same