“Go beyond instinct, go beyond hatred,” Pope Francis urged before praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.
He referred to the Gospel of the Sunday liturgy (Lk 6:27-38) in which Jesus encourages his followers what seems impossible, even unjust. The Lord instructs his disciples to love their enemies and turn the other cheek when struck. But is this an attitude of passive weakness? How does Jesus react when struck by a guard during his unjust trial?
“He asks for an account of the wrong done to him,” the Pope explained. “Turning the other cheek does not mean suffering in silence, giving in to injustice.
“Jesus, with his question, denounces what is unjust. But he does so without anger, without violence, indeed with kindness. He does not wish to spark off an argument, but rather to defuse resentment, this is important: to extinguish hatred and injustice together, seeking to restore the guilty brother.”
But what about loving one’s enemies? Is this really reasonable or even possible?
“If it depended only on us, it would be impossible,” Francis said.
“But let us recall that, when the Lord asks for something, he wishes to give it. The Lord never asks for something he has not already given us first. When he tells me to love my enemies, he wants to give me the capacity to do so.”
