11 You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
12 So my heart will sing to you unceasingly, Yahweh, my God, I shall praise you for ever.
PSALM 30:11-12
Oh, well, look at that. A joyful reading, for once? Well, that's nice, thank you, God. Thank you for this foggy Monday morning and thank you for an awesome lunch. Thank you for letting me wake up this morning.
See, I know life gets rough and sometimes--particularly on Mondays--we just feel like AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BLEEEEEERRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ASDFJKASDLFJASDFLJASJSDF. But we are alive. And God has given us all beautiful things. We just have to look hard sometimes. There is beauty all around us--and I do realize that sounds super cliched, but it is nevertheless true. We are blessed, in different ways and to different extents, but we are.
Let the Lord turn your mourning into dancing, and strip you from your sackcloth and clothe you with joy! Sometimes we need an attitude check, and God can help you turn that frown upside-down (WOW, I'm just full of cliches today).
But once we see the blessings in our lives, we want to praise the Lord at all times. Because life is beautiful and amazing and mind-blowing. And for all those things that are missing, well... God's there to fill in the blank. Ask Him to flood you with joy. Ask Him to mend the holes in your heart. Trust in His plan. Trust that He will get you through this. He is watching you.
35 Jesus heard they had ejected him, and when he found him he said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of man?'
36 'Sir,' the man replied, 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.'
37 Jesus said, 'You have seen him; he is speaking to you.'
38 The man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and worshipped him.
JOHN 9:35-38
This passage of the Gospel according to John makes my jaw drop to the floor. A man, who had been blind his whole life, is healed by Jesus and immediately realises that He is the Christ, the Messiah. Let me break it down for you:
Jesus: 'Do you believe in the Messiah?'
Blind guy: 'well, who is it?'
Jesus: 'It's me!'
Blind guy: 'Okay!' *starts worshipping him*
Now, our society might look at this guy and say 'whoa, take it easy man! How are you just going to start worshiping some guy you just met?'
But, you see, this guy was blind. Had always been blind. He had never, ever, ever seen the world, a human face, himself! And here comes Jesus and opens his eyes for the first time. And the thing about the blind man's story that is very ironic is that, while he was physically blind, the "eyes" (so to speak) of his heart were open to the revelation of God through Jesus. Meanwhile, the pharisees, who didn't have visual impairments, were blinded by their arrogance and could not recognize Jesus as their saviour! I mean, if you read the passage, the blind man tells them: "You think he's bad? SERIOUSLY? Like, God doesn't do miracles through bad people. We all know this...right?"
SO, my friend, who are you: the blind man or the pharisee? Remember, I said yesterday that I am the pharisee. Well, God loves even the pharisees, and there's hope for us. Notice how in this passage, the evangelist also says that there was conflict among the pharisees because some of them did kind of believe Jesus was special!
The ultimate question is: are you blind? Then ask Jesus to heal you.
10 'Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, "I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get."
13 The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
14 This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.'
LUKE 18:10-14
We, human beings, have a tendency to be arrogant. When we wander around the world without God, we think that we can do it all on our own. And once we realise that only God is our happiness, we can still fall in the trap of holier-than-thou. It's sooooo easy to see how God blesses us and how He acts in our lives, that we can end up acting like the pharisee, saying "thank you God for making me a good person, not like them..."
Don't get me wrong--everyday, I thank God because He rescued me from the person I was becoming and He protected me in very dangerous situations I kept putting myself in as a teenager and young adult. And I feel so lucky that Jesus and Mama Mary protected me (thanks to the prayers of my mother, mostly) from falling deeper into sin. But this doesn't make me better than you, or you, or you! And I ask God to please give the not only the humility to recognize that I am nothing without Him and that all that I have is thanks to Him, but the love to see you, you, and you as His beloved and not feel that I am better than any of you.
Because I was that pharisee. And I am fighting not to be anymore, and I pray that God helps me not to be it anymore. Because, see... pharisees were not murders, or thieves... they were righteous people, role-models even. But in the process of going through a checklist of "things to do" they forgot that the number one thing to do was to love God, and their neighbours as themselves (which we talked about yesterday).
And I'm not saying that "oh, since being a pharisee is bad, let's just be sinners!" No! Because Jesus explains to us that the tax collector was truly sorry for his sins and clamoring for God's mercy. It's not like "oooh.. well, I'll just do this and I'll just say I'm sorry later " (which many people think that is what the sacrament of confession/reconciliation is like. HINT: it's not).
All I'm trying to say here is that we should all strive for the perfection of the pharisee while at the same time recognize that we need God's mercy, like the tax collector did. It is important to do good things that appear good and not good things that appear evil because we need to give testimony of our relationship with Christ. But our relationship should be a thing of the heart, the will, the soul, and the mind as well as an external demonstration.
So, what if instead of pointing fingers and saying "thank you God that I'm not like her or him" we say "Lord, have mercy on this friend, or this family member, or this coworker. He/she needs you so much. Please reveal yourself to him/her. May he/she encounter you and feel your love!"
I want you to know that the purpose of this blog is not to point fingers in a pharisee-like way. This blog is me saying to you "Hey, I'm broken, I'm plagued with flaws, but the Lord loves me so much. And I love Him. And knowing Him is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And He loves you too. And He's died for you. And He wants to hang out with you. Call Him!"
If God can love me, an ordinary pharisee, be sure that He loves you.
28 One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had given a good answer and put a further question to him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?'
29 Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord,
30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
31 The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.'
MARK 12: 28-31
Well, if you wanted a condensed version of what God wants from you, this is it. It doesn't get any simpler than that. All the other commandments stem from this. And we've talked about it--when you love God, you want to please Him and do what is good.
But I think we might have a bigger problem with the second half of this commandment. And not because loving 'thy neighbour' is hard (it really is), but because too many of us struggle with loving ourselves.
Just as we are. Just as we look.
Yeah, you might think this is usually a girl issue, but I've met countless men who struggle with loving themselves as well. And the thing is, if you don't love yourself, it is impossible for you to truly love others. Because when we don't love ourselves, we start looking to other people for reassurance, for giving us a self-esteem boost, for making us feel important. And that's not real love... that's more like selfishness. Love is about giving without expecting in return! Love is Christ in the cross!!!
So if you struggle to accept yourself as you are: short, too tall, chubby, skinny, too dark, too pale, etc etc etc... lift up your heart to Jesus today. Ask Him to let you see yourself as He sees you!
Oh, and if you're narcissistic and think you are the hottest thing in this planet--well, bad news bears... you're doing it wrong. We are not beautiful because the world, the over-sexualizing media, tells us. We are beautiful simply because we were created by Him who only makes beautiful, good, whole things!!! And we were made in love--no matter if your parents say you were 'an accident'. God had you planned since before you were born. You are no accident. You are precious. You are worthy. You are enough!
I struggle with my body-image too. But I ask Jesus to fill up the holes made by my insecurities with His love and joy! Come Holy Spirit, come heal our hearts and minds from the unrealistic expectations of this world. Come move within us!
May the Lord teach you how to truly love yourself, that you may love others and change the world!
'Anyone who is not with me is against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me throws away.' LUKE 11: 23 This is one of those times when Jesus gets really harsh. He gives us two choices: either to be with him or to be against him. No in-betweens, no lukewarmness. It's not that Jesus thinks we are never going to sin again. It's just that He wants us to commit fully, with all our hearts, minds, and strength, rather than make half-hearted promises. He is Love itself, in its fullness, and with Him there is no middle ground: He is infinite mercy, infinite justice, infinite peace. And in order to be able to give us all that, we need to give Him a 'yes' that is like Mary's: ABSOLUTE. If we don't, then we are rejecting His grace willingly. Jesus wants to reveal himself to you, to be the King of your heart, to fill you with his love, and joy, and peace. Let him! Be with Him, not against Him. You only need to say 'yes' and open your heart to Him.
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.' MATTHEW 5:17 Aaahhh, yes, this is a good one *inhales, pops neck, pops fingers*. Remember a few years ago that Youtube video that went viral: "Why I hate religion, but love Jesus"??? I guess I should remind you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY Yikes, man.... yikes! That awkward moment when you say "Jesus hated religion" and Jesus says "actually.... no." Then you read in this passage that Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, the rules, or the teachings of the prophets, but to fulfill them!!!! The Lord didn't hate religion--He was a practicing Jew. What He disliked was hypocrisy, or the practicing of religion for its own sake. See, we humans tend to take things for granted. As we grow into a routine, into ritual practices, we forget why we do what we do. And Jesus doesn't want us to meaninglessly mimic a set of rules. Our relationship with God shouldn't be a daily checklist: I read the bible, I went to church, I prayed--DONE for today and now I get to do what I want. Our relationship with God needs to be a love affair!!!!! But that doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want or that Jesus hated religion. In love, Jesus fulfilled the will of the Father, and He asks us to "be perfect, just like your heavenly Father is perfect!" (Matthew 5:48). He wants us to strive for perfection, and He knows that we need these rules, the law, to guide us. Our law is his teaching. Throughout the gospels (and the whole Bible), God specifically asks us to do certain things (although the first thing we need to do is to love Him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. It's a lot easier to try to follow all the other rules if we first follow this commandment!). And Jesus was also very clear about the CHURCH: "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Jesus' Church is his mystical body, set out to do Jesus' mission on earth, to establish the Kingdom of Heaven! Does that sound like Jesus hated religion?
Besides.... loving Jesus makes you his follower. And a follower of Christ is...errr.... a Christian. So...yup. And we wouldn't know about Jesus, his life, his death and resurrection without religion... so... yup.
In other words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE Wow, this was very long... COOL! What I'm trying to get at is this: yes, the Church is plagued with sinners. But the Doctor doesn't come to those who are healthy, but those who are ill! And yes, hypocrisy is abundant... but the Holy Spirit still works through the brokenness. Doesn't calling others hypocrites makes us hypocritical? What if instead of staying away from a hypocrite-plagued church, you came and, by loving and serving God with all your hearts, you helped changed all those hypocritical hearts? Have you ever thought of that? The Church is the Bride of Christ. And She has her arms open for you! It is through the Church that Christ reached out to me, healed me, and gave me the peace and joy I had never experience before! Come home!
Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angelleft her. LUKE 1:38 Wow to the wow to the wow. So I've been beating in your head the idea to trust God for 20 days now. But what better example can I put before you than Mary's! She was a teenage girl. She was a virgin. And here comes this angel and tells her that God wants her to have His baby?!?!?!?!?! This would make Mary liable to be stoned, according to the law of the Jews. She could have been killed over this. Just let that sink in for a moment. Besides... she really was just a teenage girl!! Think of girls you know that have gotten pregnant at 15 or 16... the reaction is not generally "oh, yes, about time!" is it? It's mostly panic. So imagine how Mary felt. YET This was an angel telling her what God wanted to do. Notice: not telling her "God is going to do this, period", but more like "God would like to do this with you, what do you think?" He gives her a choice. And her response is not a half-hearted "ugh, *teenage scoff*... I guess..." It's not only just a "yes". It is "I am the Lord's servant", meaning "I will do whatever You ask me, Lord!" Oh, that we were a bit like Mary! That we would completely surrender to the will of God! That we would take that jump into the abyss of faith! Then the Lord would catch us and exalt us! Then our souls would glorify the Lord like Mary's did!!!!! Mary, my mother, help me be like you!
9 So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha's house.
10 And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, 'Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.'
11 But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, 'Here was I, thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the part that was diseased.
2 KINGS 5:9-11
So we're all basically like this guy Naaman. When I was reading today's scriptures, I laughed out loud because this is so human: we ask God for help, but then we want Him to help us in a particular way that we have planned. And when it turns out that He will help us in a different way, we're like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS ASKING FOR?!!??!?!?"
Of course we all want things to work our way, even when we are asking God for help. But see, God's plans might sound CRAZY sometimes, but God's craziness is wiser than human wisdom! And if you are asking Him to do something, then you should fully surrender and accept the outcome! It will not be easy, but He will give you what you need, which might not necessarily be what you want.
And recognize that sometimes we expect this wonderful, unbelievable miracle to happen when in reality He might have something a lot less extravagant in mind. Small miracles are also miracles. Look for them in your life--they are all around! Starting with the miracle of miracles--the Eucharist, God made flesh made bread.
The Lord loves you!!! Don't doubt Him! Just ask for patience and for the strength to accept His will. He will not let you down.
'You could hardly find anyone ready to die even for someone upright; though it is just possible that, for a really good person, someone might undertake to die.
So it is proof of God's own love for us, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.'
ROMANS 5:7-8
Need I say more? Who does that--dying for completely undeserving people? Sacrificing for those who are bad? Like St. Paul says, maybe if it was a really really good person...
Yet Jesus did it for us, who are not only a bunch of sinners but who crucified him with our offenses!! Every pain He suffered on the cross was the consequence to each one of our sins! How He loves us, indeed! His sacrifice reconciled us with the Father and made it possible for us to spend the rest of eternity in heaven!
What else can I say to you? Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. Got it?
'So he left the place and went back to his father. 'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him.' LUKE 15:20 This is hands down my favorite parable told by Jesus. It's the story of the prodigal son: some kid who tells his dad to give him his inheritance ahead of time, goes to a foreign country, spends all the money, ends up working with pigs and realizing that he really messed up, so he decides to come back home and ask his dad to take him as one of the servants. But in this verse we read that when his father saw him he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him. Imagine... an old man... just sitting out in his porch and seeing his long-lost son from the distance. Imagine that same old man running, spreading his arms, clasping his son as if he was a little boy, covering his face with kisses! And his son had just been walking home, probably for days, and... even worse: he had been working among pigs (the pig being a very filthy, unholy animal for the Jewish people). Imagine how he looked and how he smelled... and his dad didn't care! His boy, his baby (he is the younger son) is back. He rejoices! That's how God loves us!!! And when we turn back to God with all of our hearts, He runs out to greet us, embraces us, kisses us, and throws a party up in heaven because we were lost, but now we are found. How wonderful is our God! You see, this father never reproaches, never asks 'why are you wearing these rags? Why do you smell so filthy? Where's the money I gave you?' When we repent and come back to the Lord, He doesn't scold. He takes us in and overpowers us with love. Come to the Father, He is out in the porch, looking out, longing for you, ready to greet you!!!
'But his brothers, seeing how much more his father loved him than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.' GENESIS 37: 4 Oh boy... haven't we heard this before! We all know that super annoying person who we don't ever want to talk to, right? Well, when you read the story of Joseph, you see that Joseph was actually a really nice guy!! His brothers, though... YIKES!!! And sometimes we act like Joseph's brothers. Out of jealousy, envy, or simply misunderstandings we decide that we don't like so-and-so and we are mean and even cruel. We cut them off. We gossip about them. We are rude. And sometimes... well we even try to deliberately hurt them. When you read Joseph's story, don't you just want to say "UGH, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS!! YOU ARE JUST HORRIBLE PEOPLE!!!!" Think about that next time you are about to be mean to a person. I know it's hard. But... 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Remember words kill. When we do these things we are letting pride take over us--we believe ourselves to be better than others. May the Lord help us be more like Joseph and less like his brothers. May He who is humble help us be humble, like Joseph, so that we may accept people as they are.
'Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on.' JEREMIAH 17:7
Do you trust the Lord and His plan? Do you completely surrender yourself to His will? Are you filled with anxiety about the present and the future? Do you feel angry or frustrated when life seems to get out of your control? I don't blame you--me too!! I am a control freak and I always want for my plans to work to perfection. This was my main problem with God for years!! But, you know, when things were just not going my way, when nothing was working anymore, I found myself needing to just give up what was left of my life to God. I literally gave up: I was so tired of fighting and of being angry about life not going like I wanted it to. And you know what happened? I said, "fine, God! FINE! I can't do this anymore. Here I am, take me, with whatever I have left". And He did. Things started to change from that day. It turned out that it wasn't that whatever I wanted was bad, but that I wanted to achieve it through my own merits. I was arrogant and proud, I wanted to be master of my own life. But when I surrendered to God, then He gave me what I wanted and more! Even things I didn't know I needed. Because He truly knows our hearts. So, rely on God. Trust in Jesus. He will not let you down.
"I shall be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does wrong, I shall punish him with a rod such as men use, with blows such as mankind gives." 2 SAMUEL 7:14 In this passage, God is telling King David that his son, Solomon, would be a son to Him. What does fatherhood entitle? Love, of course. But also discipline. To the point of punishment. But not a punishment for revenge, for anger, or for jealousy. A punishment to mend us, to get us in the right path. But you know, the thing about God's "punishment" is... it's never really punishment in the sense we think because something good always comes out of it! I promise. And do know that sickness, loss, or death are not "punishments". Sometimes God allows those things to happen for something greater to come out of it. Death is a part of life, so is our lot. But if we rely on God during those difficult times, then He will see us through. And if you've been abandoned, mistreated, or neglected by your earthly father, do know that God is your Father! Today is the feast of St. Joseph, the adoptive father of our Lord Jesus. If you are a man, may you strive to be like St. Joseph: an excellent father, an admirable husband. And if you are a lady, pray to God that you find a husband like him (wink, wink).
'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool' ISAIAH 1:18 What a beautiful passage!! We've talked about this: no matter where you come from, what you've done before, God can make you whole, can restore your purity, innocence, joy.
Where there is chaos, the Lord can bring calm. Where there is violence, He can restore peace. Where there is sadness, He can instill joy.
And I'm not talking about the world out there---of course God can work a miracle and give us the perfect world, but that would involve taking our wills away. He has given us the power to choose for ourselves, to make decisions. He won't take that away.
But what I'm talking about here is, once again, restoration of our hearts, minds, and souls. And He does give us the option. We can always say "no, God, I'm fine like I am... I don't need you".... but that, my friends, is the ultimate spiritual death.
So let God turns that scarlet of vice, lust, addiction, and sin and purify it into innocence, peace, and joy.
If you feel like you can't leave that hole of sin, ask the Lord to pull you out, to open your eyes, to finish this race for you! He has faith in you.
36 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.
37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.'
LUKE 6:36-38
Don't you just want to be like:
'Dear God,
please stop asking for things that are so hard to do.
Okay, bye.'
I get it... be compassionate, do not judge, give... too.. much... work...
But the thing is--why should we expect compassion, or a fair judgment, or to receive things from God? Do we deserve any of that? NO. Yet He still does all these things for us. But there's the condition, per usual: do unto others as you would have it do unto you. If you are judgmental, of course God is going to hold you to a stricter standard (because being judgmental implies we think ourselves better/smarter/holier than others), and if you are compassionate, of course God is going to be like "aawwww, this one has a good, loving heart, let's give her/him a break!"
You know, a few years back I found an old journal that I kept in high school and read a few pages. I was so appalled--- my writing reflected how judgmental and self-righteous I was! Reading that made me feel so ugly, it was sickening! Because being judgmental means lacking love. And a person who lacks love is an unhappy person. I don't want to be that person, do you?
And you know the thing about giving---it might hurt at first, but the joy that it begets makes up for any loss. Like St. Francis of Assisi says, 'it is in giving that we receive'. That's what Jesus is saying in the gospel!
So don't be afraid to love until it hurts--but truly love, not in a romantic type of way, but in the way of The Passion: to give yourself entirely to others. Don't be afraid to give--He will reward you a hundred-fold!!
'But Jesus came up and touched them, saying, 'Stand up, do not be afraid.'
And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but Jesus.'
MATTHEW 17:7-8
I love this passage of the Bible: Jesus has transfigured and the disciples have seen in in all of His glory, chilling with Moses and Elijah, and then suddenly there's a voice (the voice of God the Father) who says 'This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.'
Imagine hearing a voice coming out of a cloud---worth of a horror movie, huh? John, James, and Peter FREAKED OUT! They were terrified!! It was already crazy enough to see Moses and Elijah and Jesus all shiny, and now this?
But what happens then? Jesus comes and touches them and says 'don't be afraid'. Sometimes in life, problems overwhelm us... and we just want to hide, terrified. But Jesus comes and tells us 'hey hey, look at me, here I am, do not be afraid!!'
And scripture says that Peter, James, and John raised their eyes and saw no one but Jesus! What a beautiful sight, don't you think? Imagine what that would be for us--to find, in the midst of our problems and worries, the face of Christ, the beloved.
I can tell you that the face of Jesus is the most beautiful sight I've ever beheld. And yes, this happened at a time of my life when I was crippled by fear, anxiety, and trouble. I was bent with worry, I was burdened with sadness. And Jesus touched me and said 'do not be afraid. I am here, with you. I am your beloved' and I saw nothing but Jesus, and my life changed.
43 'You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy.
44 But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you;
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike.'
MATTHEW 5: 43-45
Yup, this is the day: the day when God has to come and make us all feel bad and uncomfortable because He's asking us to love our enemies.
Oh, God, why? Don't you see that's basically impossible. I mean... they are our enemies for a reason... or are they? Think about the people you consider enemies, or the people you really don't like... or even hate...
Why don't you like them? Why do you hate them? Did they hurt you? What did they do to you?
Sometimes, when you think about it, you don't have a good reason. BUT, if you do, think about this: if you hate them because they have been bad to you, how does hating them make you any better than them? AND, like we said yesterday: that hatred... who is it hurting? Them or you?
I know, I know... you're probably asking: "well, Cris, do you love your enemies!??!?!?!" And I will tell you: no, I do not. I fail daily at it. I have to remember myself constantly that God loves these people as much as He loves me. I have to ask God to help me see His face in these people so that I can at least feel like loving them. But you know, when you pray like that, suddenly you start noticing you have a lot less enemies than you used to... somehow I find myself being less conflicting than before, when I used to go around hating on people (yeah, being a big hater is right up my alley, but I trust God is gradually making improvements).
But you and I , we're friends right? So I pray for you to love your enemies, and you pray for me to love my enemies, ok? We got each other, ok? Okay.
The whole loving your enemies thing distinguishes us from the world--so we need to do it proudly! Because, when Jesus was being nailed--NAILED--on a cross for our sins, he didn't have a single resentful, bitter, unforgiving thought for those men. He forgave them. Now, unless you've actually been crucified, I don't see how the offenses people have done to us are greater and harder to forgive than being nailed to a cross, naked, bruised, and bleeding.
Hey, listen, I love you! God loves you. God IS love. So let Love do His work. If you abide in His love, you will be able to love a lot easier!
