“The Lord Jesus Christ wants to teach us that only a person who is consistently good, generous and merciful shows that he or she was created in the image of the good and merciful God,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel said on Sunday at the historic Chapel of St George the Great Martyr at the Patriarchal Residence.
His Beatitude noted that although God commands love for one’s enemies, some people may ask: “How can we love our enemies if we very often forget even those who have done us much good?”
“We often forget our parents who gave us life and raised us, the teachers, spiritual fathers and professors who formed us, the leaders who promoted us to a higher position, and we quickly forget those who helped us in times of poverty, illness or trouble. Yet we remember for a long time the wrong someone has done to us, the word that offended or wounded us, the malicious act and the enemy who humiliated us or caused us harm.”
The Patriarch of Romania said that all these forms of wrongdoing by others towards us are retained deeply and for a long time in our cognitive and emotional memory. As a result, the wrongdoing of others, preserved within us, eventually becomes our own malice or a sickness of our soul.
“The soul that does not forgive and does not forget the wrongdoing of its enemies stored within it — that is, the soul that does not free itself from it — is neither free nor healthy. It is very difficult for the sinful or selfish nature of a person, inclined towards revenge, to change so profoundly that someone who has been humiliated can desire the good of the person who wronged them,” Patriarch Daniel emphasised.
Prayer for enemies
His Beatitude explained that loving one’s enemies can be impossible for a sinful human being without seeking God’s help.
“With the help of Christ’s grace, a person who has been wounded in the soul can remove from the heart the thorns of hatred and the desire for revenge, as an Orthodox prayer for the forgiveness of enemies says.”
The Patriarch of Romania also emphasised that sincere, rather than hypocritical, love for one’s enemies begins with prayer for their forgiveness and correction.
“Our liturgical books contain prayers for the increase of love and for the banishment of hatred and the desire for revenge,” Patriarch Daniel recalled.
A call for patience
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel noted that prayer and patience are necessary for an enemy to change their ways.
“The change for the better or correction of an enemy does not always come when or how we desire it. Sometimes great patience is needed, and prayer must be accompanied by fasting. Often, the effect of prayer for an enemy can be seen in a change in that person’s attitude towards us, not because we have punished them, but because they themselves have come to realise that they are unjust or acting wrongly.”
Patriarch Daniel urged the faithful to place their hope in God’s help when praying for those who treat them unjustly.
“The Lord sometimes changes the behaviour of enemies in a wonderful way when He sees the great patience and strong faith of those who suffer.”
“We understand that we cannot be merciful as God is merciful unless we ask for His help and think more about our own faults than about the faults of others,” His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel concluded.
