Loving Others

Catholics are commanded to love everyone. Wendy reflects on how we need to embrace humility to be able to carry out this commandment.

By Wendy Grace

Visiting a prisoner. (Shutterstock)

Do you ever find yourself asking for the grace to tolerate people that are difficult, or that have very different views or lifestyles to you? Or perhaps you have recently had conversations where you found yourself judging or scorning others. But tolerance isn’t what we should be praying for, tolerance is basically putting up with someone! As Catholics, we are called not necessarily to like everyone, but to love them!

So how do we see people through God's eyes, how do we genuinely rise to this very challenging call to love our neighbour? The first step is humility.   

Often, we are harder on others than we are on ourselves. For example, when you experience someone who cuts you off while you are driving, have you found yourself cursing them, perhaps beeping and shouting expletives? Yet maybe if you cut someone else off you give yourself a little slack, you're tired or in a hurry so it's ok? I’m hoping that example is something that makes you want to grow in humility and to become more aware of this key piece of scripture: 

Luke 6:41 “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” 

In otherwards, when we spend time focusing on others' defects, we forget we have many of our own. There needs to be recognition of who we are, that we are all broken in some way and that original sin means none of us are perfect. In Saint Teresa of Ávilas' writings, “Interior Castles”, she talks about how one of the first steps on the path to holiness is self-knowledge. 

When we have an interior awareness of our own flaws, we focus our efforts to change them, and foster a true desire to be the person God intended us to be. Focus our time and energy on growing in holiness rather than on becoming fixated on the sins of others around us. Having a personal relationship with God will help you to see yourself as God sees you and hopefully see others the way God sees them. If we can do that then genuine love of neighbour, even the most difficult ones, can be possible. 

For some, the Covid-19 pandemic has made us more insular. A more renewed effort needs to be made at being friendly to all the people you are now interacting with face to face in everyday life.  

We should try our best to be genuinely interested in what is happening in the other person's life, for more casual interactions, and to make a real effort to will good for the other person. 

Jesus told us "Whoever welcomes one of these little ones in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father". Jesus also says, "I was in prison, and you visited me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, I was different, and you welcomed me". In these more genuine interactions do you ask yourself enough - how would Jesus treat this person? 

When I think of Jesus one of the words that comes to the forefront of my mind is mercy. He has this for us in abundance. Do you have this mercy towards others? Do you pray for mercy when you are having a difficult conversation or interaction?

The commandment that Jesus gave us to love our neighbours, including those who we might not like, is not easy. We need to pray to see others through God's eyes - to enable us to look for the God and therefore the Good in each person. This call to love our enemy, while not easy, is actually one of the things that can help us grow in virtue, deepen our relationship with Christ, and ultimately be a step on our path to Heaven.