Opening Prayer

God, let me be still and know that you are with me. Help me to surrender to your peaceful presence, letting go of anxieties. I trust that you are leading me to a deeper understanding of your love for me.

Scripture

Matthew 5:44
But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Reflection

It’s easy to love the people we agree with or those we find easy to love, but we are also called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I recall a time in my life when I was unfairly targeted with an accusation that was untrue in front of a gathering of people. I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. It took me a long time to get over it as I struggled with thoughts and feelings of being hurt.  This kept me chained in a mindset that prevented me from moving on. Eventually, I realised that God was walking alongside me as I journeyed with him through this experience. He took me by my hand and helped me to face this situation with courage.  

In our world, we are witnessing people who take extreme views and who even act on them with violence. This is a far cry from Jesus’ desire, “That they all may be one” (John 17:21). God needs our help to transform hearts and minds, trusting that He is in our troubled world and working through the people who walk alongside Him. Personally, I struggle to pray for those people who hurt others, and I can only do it when I’m being honest with God about my feelings of anger and frustration. Then, I usually find the strength to pray for them, which I believe is a good start. This awareness keeps me humble, realising that I have a lot of work to do on my spiritual journey.

Reflection Prayer

Lord, if I struggle to love those who have hurt me, hold me close.
Help me to be honest about my feelings and to lean on your strength.
Teach me to see with your eyes, and let your love heal me.

Concluding Prayer  

“What we are asked to do is to love; and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbour worthy if anything can. Indeed, that is one of the most significant things about the power of love. There is no way under the sun to make a man worthy of love except by loving him. As soon as he realises himself loved – if he is not so weak that he can no longer bear to be loved – he will feel himself instantly becoming worthy of love. He will respond by drawing a mysterious spiritual value out of his own depths, a new identity called into being by the love that is addressed to him.”

– Thomas Merton