On Loving Our Enemies, Redux*

“ Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matt 5:43-44 (KJV)

WHAT KIND OF LOVE?

According to the Gospel, we should love Hamas leaders, the terrorists who hacked off babies heads in the name of Islam, the college students and Main Stream Media pundits who praise their efforts.  Or maybe not?

Let’s consider what “love” means in the context of the quote.  Going to the Greek New Testament, we find “thou shalt love” = “ Ἀγαπήσεις”  and “Love” = “ἀγαπᾶτε.”   This kind of love is “agape,” which  is the highest form of love, as C.S. Lewis explained in his “Four Loves.”  It is more than affection, friendship or romantic love.  It corresponds to the Latin translation, “caritas,” or charity, as in 1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

HOW TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES

So, how then should we “ἀγαπᾶτε” our enemies?  Here’s an example: Fr. Bernard Groeschel’s prayer for Madonna, that she be converted and go to a secluded nunnery.  We do not have to like or respect our enemies, but we do have to pray for the best that can happen to them, their conversion.  In wishing that they change their ways, we offer love as an act of will.  Such love does not yield the warm fuzzies that the other three forms do, but it is akin to the unconditional love that Christ has for us.  This is the Divine Mercy love shown in St. Faustina’s painting.  Christ loves the Pharisees,  even though he knows their sins:

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” Matt 23:27 (KJV)

HOW TO FIGHT THE ENEMY

Now, The Enemy tempts us to not follow the Gospel.  The great sin of these terrorists is not that they murder, they torture, they hate, they corrupt.  It is rather, that by their sins they push us into the arms of The Enemy.   Their actions are so foul that they move us to forget what Christ told us: Love your enemies and bless them that curse you.

So, we should bless our enemy.  And our blessings should be sincere. Hard though it is to do, each evening in the intercessions I offer at  Zoom rosary meetings I pray for the conversion of  my enemies. and that they and I follow Christ’s teaching.    But that does not mean that we should not try to prevent them from committing sins.   And it does not mean that justice should not prevail; that they should not be punished for their sins.

MAKING THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME

How should one punish those Hamas terrorists who beheaded babies, murdered children, raped women?  I don’t think execution, imprisonment, or any kind of bodily punishment is sufficient to enact justice for their crimes.  Rather, I can imagine the following science-fiction type scenario.  Suppose medical procedures and techniques are available by which one can implant memories and emotions from one person to another.  Into each captured Hamas terrorist we implant the memories and emotions of the parents who have seen their children killed, of the children who have seen their parents killed, …and the list goes on.  These memories and emotions will be with the terrorists until they die, and they will not be allowed to commit suicide.

Rather than fire, perhaps this is the punishment God will inflict in Hell on those who do not repent.

NOTE

*This piece is adapted from articles published 23/3/2022 on The American Catholic and 25/3/2022 on Catholic Stand.