The Gospel readings at daily Mass this week are all from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. Last week’s Gospel readings were also from Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Next week’s Gospel will be more of the same: Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Let’s be careful not to let any of Christ’s sermon on the mount escape us, especially today’s: “love your enemies.” In case anyone was wondering: Christ did not err on this point. “Love your enemies” is an immutable Christian dogma faithfully handed down across the centuries. Anyone professing to be a Christian disciple must take it seriously.
A place to start is with the distinction: “Love the sinner but hate the sin.” How can we love the sinner? By learning to appreciate the goodness that he possesses regardless of his sins, and by praying for him, and making acts of reparation and atonement for his sins.
One of the good things about every sinner is that he was created by God. Now, a particular sinner may not be among God’s greatest creations, that’s true, but the sinner remains lovable due to the identity of his Creator. Consider the artist Michelangelo. Wouldn’t you love to have one of his artworks? What if you could have a slip of paper with Michelangelo’s signature, maybe just a receipt for some paint that was delivered to the Sistine chapel? Admittedly, such a receipt would not be especially beautiful in comparison to the rest of Michelangelo’s works, but it would be valuable due to its maker. But every sinner was made directly by an artist far greater than Michelangelo.