Sermon – Love Your Enemies, Pray for Those Who Persecute You (Matthew 5:43–48) – June 16, 2026

Jesus commands us to love our enemies.

What is love? Love is not just an emotion; it is much more than that.

Love is seeking, wanting, and striving for the well-being of the beloved . It is striving for the good of another. But the love Jesus wants from us goes beyond this: True love is wanting the well-being of the beloved, but it is wanting the highest , absolute good, and that is the salvation of the soul.

Therefore, the person who strives, desires, and does everything in their power for the salvation of the one they love, truly loves them. When it comes to enemies, it is often impossible for us to harbor good and pleasant feelings towards those who do us harm, which is why Jesus said:

Pray for those who oppress you.

For if I pray for the salvation of the one who has wronged and oppressed me , then I already love him and wish for the highest good for him, which is the salvation of his soul.

Beloved brothers and sisters, this is what it means to be a Christian: to be someone who works, prays, seeks, and desires the highest good (salvation of the soul) for everyone, even enemies; to be kind to everyone, even those who have wronged him.

This is what it means to be a saint: to act like our heavenly Father, for He “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”

Let us pray for our enemies, and ask God to have mercy on them.

Let us ask for this favor from the Blessed Virgin Mary.