Charity Unfeigned: Loving Our Enemies
Saturday, March 15th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the First Week of Lent
“But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you…. Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:44, 5:48 DRB).
These words from today’s Gospel remind us of the purpose behind our Lenten observances: charity. As Jesus said, even tax collectors and pagans loved those who loved them. As Christians, we are called to practice perfect charity in imitation of Christ, forgiving even our enemies.
In the traditional liturgical calendar, today is the Feast of St. Longinus, the centurion who stood at the foot of Christ’s Cross and pierced His side. According to Tradition, St. Longinus suffered from poor eyesight, which was miraculously cured when the blood and water pouring forth from Jesus’ side touched him. At this, St. Longinus gave his beautiful profession of faith: “Indeed this man was the [S]on of God” (Mk 15:39).
St. Longinus’ miraculous healing and declaration of faith was the turning point of his life. He left the Roman army and became a monk under the instruction of the Apostles, the first priests and bishops of the Church. St. Longinus was later arrested, tortured, and martyred for his faith. A man who had physically participated in putting Christ to death became a martyr for Christ, a beautiful testament to the power of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, which wrought the salvation of all mankind.
This does not mean that all mankind will be saved; rather, the merits of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection have atoned for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. It is the task of each man and woman to accept this grace by means of repentance, not just once in his life, but continually, every day of his earthly life, so that he may accept the grace to overcome concupiscence and remain in the state of grace. We do this by following the Law of God, as today’s Psalm reminds us.
God’s laws are not mere suggestions; they are objective truths that require obedience in order to live a rightly-ordered life worthy of the Kingdom of God. God’s laws are not always easy to obey due to the effects of Original Sin on our intellects and wills, but the reward is far greater than the sacrifice of obeying. When we love our enemies, we are practicing “charity unfeigned” (2 Cor 6:6), which St. Paul described as the key to not receiving the grace of God in vain.
If our God so readily offered healing and salvation to one of the soldiers who crucified Him, then we can set aside our pride and excessive anger to truly love our enemies, praying for them and willing them the ultimate good of their eternal salvation. This does not mean that we condone injustice or permit others to abuse us, but rather it provides a means by which to temper our anger so that it might remain within the bounds of justice (for righteous anger is itself a virtue), trusting that God will use the situation to bring about His greater glory. By practicing charity unfeigned and loving even our enemies, we obey the Will of God, building up treasure for ourselves in Heaven and participating in God’s Divine Providence that seeks to draw sinners, including those who have wronged us, to Himself.
“To love is to will the good of the other” CCC #1766