27 But I say to you that hear: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you. 29 And to him that striketh thee on the one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh away from thee thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every one that asketh thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again.
Luke 6: 27-30
News that I missed, courtesy of the The Babylon Bee:
U.S. — Reports from across the country reveal millions of Christian extremists gathered in groups this morning to pray for the people who want to kill them.
Though they shed tears of grief for the dead, the extremists collectively reaffirmed their belief in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
“Yes, we are grieved and sorrowful, and for all those hurting deeply, we pray to the Lord,” said local man Greg Thompson. “And for those who have hurt us and celebrate our grief, we also pray to the Lord. We have seen the most heinous form of hate, that which will take a life. We have also experienced the greatest form of love, that which will lay down its own life, pure and spotless. At the cross — where again, hatred took a life — love proved stronger than hate. Love proved stronger than death. And so, suffering as we are, we strive to follow the example of Christ. Forgive them, Father. Bring them to your Kingdom.”
Go here to read the rest.
If you find yourself drawn to wrath against the murderer or those who rejoice in it, pray a rosary for their conversion. I have to remind myself that Christ died for us while we were still his enemies.
Ecclesiastes 3.
Kirk’s assassination brought three things to mind in quick order as I was doing my holy hour. They shot him in the throat to keep him from speaking the Truth. The next thought that came to mind was CS Lewis’s quote about living in enemy occupied territory. We clearly do. And I often use YouTube for Gregorian chant as I’m praying, and it started to feed me Knights Templar videos and chants which brought to mind Ephesians 6:10-20. Time to girt our loins with truth and put on the breastplate of justice.
“Calumny refers to the act of making false and malicious statements about someone, which can severely damage their reputation. It is often compared to murder in a metaphorical sense, as it can destroy a person’s life and dignity without physical violence.“
Not only are calumny and murder related “metaphorically”… but recent events have shown that actual murder especially when suggested to thousands of people.. is not far behind-
DavidWS:
Character assassination morphed into physical assassination.
Had to be a sharpshooter, a paid assassin.
Based on my experience, based on my conversion, based on my continued purification (I’ve got a long way to go yet) I pray that Christ will give enough pain and discomfort to effect my enemies’ conversions, but that it be no more severe than necessary to accomplish the task. (Indeed, when I have courage enough, I pray the same for myself.)
Squishy, no cross, come as you are, no repentance Jesus is not sufficient. These guys need the real deal – just like the rest of us!