The weapon against hate

we need right now

When feeling powerless, it’s tempting to remain stoically silent.

When it seems as if all moral compasses have been tossed in the shredder, it’s tempting to lash out in self-righteous anger.

When animosity reaches a fever pitch, it’s tempting to escape into comforting entertainment.

When change is no longer subtle like a stream but overwhelming like a tsunami, it’s tempting to passively go with the flow.

The need to answer the call to love our neighbor can be overwhelming. Loving other people (and ourselves sometimes) is not as straightforward as we would like it to be. Rather than showing up with all the love our hearts hold, we get stuck second-guessing our interactions with others.

As people of peace— hate is not in our repertoire and often not in our vocabulary. It is something we actively want to resist and ultimately work to defeat. Hate is so ugly a word that I hesitate to use it. Unfortunately, it is on the rise and if we are on the frontline in the battle to defeat it we must not be afraid to name it.

Here’s the good news— Courage is contagious.

Hate will not be defeated by Silence, Animosity, Avoidance, or Passivity.

Hate is defeated by love.

A powerful weapon to resist hate is Prayer.

When it’s easier for good people to ignore the cries Jesus heard most clearly than it is to take action—we need a new prayer. A prayer that helps us resist our tendency to “follow the rules” and “go along to get along”. A prayer that helps us see hate for what it is. A prayer that expands our Christian imagination so that we can envision our participation in creating a different tomorrow.

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A prayer for the courage to love like Jesus.

God of love.

I am tempted to ignore what is going on in the political life of my country. It seems easier to turn a deaf ear to the anger and a blind eye to the division, all in the name of peace of mind. I’d rather the animosity evaporate on its own.

Never before, in my lifetime, have the ramifications of an election been so startling and so numerous.

Never before, in my lifetime, can I remember so much division between people of goodwill.

Never before, in my lifetime, have I taken so long to count the cost before speaking.

There is a human cost to hate. And it scares me to look this cost in the face.

Yet, despite the radical changes, snow still falls and sparkles under the streetlights like glitter. Rainbows still form over hospitals as doctors care for Your servant whose lungs are weary. Couples still plan weddings and welcome new life.

My mind struggles to make sense of all that is happening that seems so far away while the predictable sun rises just outside my window.

I know your Son faced animosity, anger, and attacks. And still, He loved the outcast, the odd, the opinionated.

God of love, I need your help. Because I may not be called to do big things, but I know I can do little things with great love, as St. Therese recommends.

Grant me the patience to remain uncomfortable for as long as necessary so I can recognize the absence of love.

Grant me the courage to discern when to speak and the wisdom to choose my words with love.

Please increase my empathy so I recognize the dignity and humanity of each person I encounter.

Give me eyes to see when I am exalting the powerful and disdaining the weak and vulnerable.

Give me ears to hear Your loving voice, a heart that beats in rhythm with yours, and hands to serve.

I believe You are more powerful than hate. Give me the courage to love like Jesus.

Amen.

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For Further Reading:

*Pope Francis’ Letter to the U.S. Bishops.

*https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/prophetic-prayer-moral-resistance

*Lessons from the Catholic Resistance