Bishop Hermann in St. Louis has another wonderful column this week in which he offers some advice on how we can learn to love our political enemies:
We live in hope. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. Our neighbors are not only those children who are destroyed by abortion, but also those who are destroying the children themselves. That means we need to find a way to love those who promote abortion yet adamantly oppose their evil actions. This can be a very trying time, or it can be a very redemptive time. I believe God is calling us to do everything we can to oppose the actions of those promoting abortions and yet love them and pray for them. There is a very simple and effective way to do this.
We live in hope. Once there was a politician whose moral values I detested. Every time he would make an appearance on TV, which was usually twice a day, I would discover feelings of anger and resentment arising within me. One day I made a very smart decision. I decided to watch TV news with the remote control in my right hand and my Rosary in my left hand. It worked! When this candidate appeared on TV, I would hit the remote control button, shutting off the TV and pray five mysteries of the Rosary. Therefore, every day this politician received 15 minutes of my reflecting on the mysteries of Christ’s birth, life, passion, death and resurrection, while I myself experienced an incredible peace. By praying the Rosary for him, my attitudes and my affections towards his person changed, and I ended up on God’s side of him. It taught me a lifelong lesson. It is far more fun to pray for someone’s salvation than to be angry with them. I still oppose his values, but I do will his salvation.
He ended by encouraging everyone to continue to pray the rosary for the election, with an emphasis on Our Lady of Guadalupe saying:
We live in hope. Remember that eight years ago the outcome of the national election was not made known until Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! We live in hope!
I did not know that…