Grace to Love Your Neighbor

One of the toughest commands placed upon us by Christ our Lord is to love our enemies. It is only by not thinking through what is being asked of us that many of us don’t balk more at the request: given that the same Christ said in the same sermon that persecution was to come our way, how are we to love those who seek our harm, even to our deaths? Although slightly eased, the same question applies to our neighbors – what empowers us to act in this way?