Re: To love everyone. -- Catholic Friends Forum

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Date Posted: 06:25:53 07/17/07 Tue
Author: Joan
Author Host/IP: ip68-0-253-131.ri.ri.cox.net / 68.0.253.131
Subject: Re: To love everyone.
In reply to: Catie 's message, "To love everyone." on 18:22:09 07/16/07 Mon

Catie, sometimes its hard to even look at mean people. Love them?! Yikes, I'm doomed. :-)

I've been thinking about that recently. Sometimes love isn't about liking. It's not about feeling warm and fuzzy. It's about responsibilty toward each other. The person may be very unlikable, but you are still reposible for respecting his human dignity.

The anti-death penalty people, I think, are misunderstood for this reason. They are "loving" their neighbor by taking the responsibilty for making sure, to the best of their ability, that the criminal's human dignity isn't denied.

I think this is why Jesus talks about the difference between loving someone who you find appealing, and loving someone who is disgusting (murderers, rapists, people who are mean to you). It's natural to feel warm and fuzzy about those who are nice to us. It's difficult to feel the same about the rest. But maybe the love Jesus is talking about has nothing to do with warm fuzzies. Maybe he's telling us that we need to remember that even the most vile person is a human with human dignity that we can't violate. Jesus counsels against retaliation, because doing something bad in return, though we humans feel justified, is a crime against the criminal's human dignity. That would make *us* guilty as well.

Or I could be all wet. :-) What do you think?

Joan

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[> [> [> Joan I think you hit it right on. -- catie, 07:08:06 07/17/07 Tue [1] (h95.42.91.75.ip.alltel.net/75.91.42.95)

I never thought of it in terms of dignity. Good point.
No doubt, Christ was an advocate of human dignity. Remember the woman caught in adultry? Indeed to forgive is one thing, to love is another. I think without the spirit of Christ living inside of us we can't humanly do that. But we know that we can through him. Some of us just have to pray harder I guess. lol

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