Saturday of the First Week of Lent
“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,” is a parallel to the story of the Rich Young Man. The rich man goes away sad because he has many possessions and is unwilling to give them up to follow Jesus unreservedly. What could be scarier than choosing poverty in order to accept God’s Providence as abundance? Giving up all survival instincts to love and pray for enemies may surpass that fear.
We must remember that love is not a feeling but an act of the will, a choice. If it is the mark of being children of our heavenly Father, then we must abandon ourselves to doing it. Anger and resentment tend to do more harm to us than our enemies. So, what do we have to lose in doing what the Lord did? He did meet the violence and hatred of the world, but instead simultaneously bore it up and swallowed it up.
In Lent, we do little, hard things. These grow our will and give us confidence that God will supply to grace to give us the power to move beyond what we feel capable of doing. So let us take a leap of faith in the poverty of our feelings, forgiving, loving, and openly rooting for the betterment of those we once considered foes.
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections