I once had the pleasure of listening to a priest tell a story from his childhood. He told about growing up in the city where he and the other neighborhood boys would gather to play a game of stickball. It never failed that the ball would be hit over the fence into the yard belonging to Mrs. Pritzker. Mrs. Pritzker would torment the young boys and would keep the balls that would land in her yard. She was one of those people you would cross a busy street for just to avoid walking past her house. The boys loathed Mrs. Pritzker.
Later in life this boy would go on to discern the priesthood. He learned that we all are created in the image and likeness of God and that Jesus lives in every single person. One day at Mass when the priest elevated the host he saw the face of Mrs. Pritzker superimposed on the host. In his heart he heard the voice of Jesus.
“You say you love me. Do you love me even when I look like this?”
Do you hate another person? Do you hate Trump or Pelosi or anyone
in our political circus? Are you holding a grudge against a family member or
another person who you believe wronged you? Do you celebrate when someone gets
theirs? These things bar the gates of heaven from being opened to you. Either
you learn to let go of the hate and the grudges in this life or you will carry
them over to the next life where you will spend as long as it takes in
purgatory to do so. If you refuse to let go of the hate in your heart it will
become an all consuming fire in hell.
Hate in this world is like shackles that bind us in slavery to the
devil. It blinds us so that we cannot see Jesus in another. No one wants to
hurt someone they love. It is easy to hurt those we hate. This is why we are
called to love one another. We are called to be merciful. Scripture tells us
that we will receive mercy in the same measure that we give mercy. If you want
to receive the full measure of God’s mercy you have to begin by giving the full
measure of your mercy. You must learn to let go of the hate and the grudges
that keep us from loving freely as God does.
We cannot begin to solve the troubles of our society until we can
look at one another through the eyes of love instead of hate. If we loved those
who looked differently from us we wouldn’t treat them differently. If we looked
upon all people with love we would not tolerate injustice to any of them. If we
truly loved our neighbor we wouldn’t let things like race, religion, sexual
preference, or the voting letter behind our names separate us into groups. The
devil wants to separate us into groups and then pit those groups against one
another. God wants us all to be one family putting the other before ourselves.
Can you put the needs of someone you despise before yourself? That
is what God requires us to do.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have
loved you, you are also to love one another.” –
John 3:34
