A Latin spiritual journey with discerning hearts, from ashes to glory.

Day 11. Love Your Enemies.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to to Matthew, chapter 5, verses 43 through 48.

You have learnt how it was said. You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say this to you. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

In this way, you will be sons of your father in heaven,

for he causes his son to rise on the bad as well as the good,

and his reign to fall on the honest and the dishonest alike.

For if you love those who love you,

what right have you to claim any credit?

Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not?

And if you save your greetings for your brothers,

are you doing anything exceptional?

Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your

heavenly father is perfect. Jesus's teaching today is among the most challenging in the gospel.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It overturns our natural instincts and calls us to a higher standard of love, one that reflects

the heart of the Father.

This love is what the New Testament calls Agape love, a love that is selfless, sacrificial, and

unconditional.

It is not based on feelings, but is an act of the will, a deliberate choice to see the good of another. This kind of love requires humility,

and often feels impossible, especially when directed toward those who are difficult to love or who have

wronged us. Yet, it is precisely in these moments that Agape Love becomes an extraordinary

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