The Holy Prophet Elisha; Our . Father Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople.
Post-feast of Pentecost.
Romans 1:7-12; Matthew 5:42-48.
Read Matthew 5:42-48
Loving others, especially those who harm us, stands among the greatest challenges of Christian life. The command of Christ in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” calls us beyond mere human justice into divine mercy. This love is not sentimental or passive. It means to will the good of the other: it is sacrificial and rooted in the heart of the Gospel. Yet such love is impossible without the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who strengthens and enables us to forgive, bless, and pray for those who wrong us—not only by our strength, but by God’s.
The Fathers of the Church recognized that hearing and obeying the voice of Christ requires both attentiveness and grace. St. Augustine wrote, “You hear the voice of the Shepherd inwardly, a voice not sounding in the ears, but penetrating to the heart” (Tractate on John 45.2). This interior hearing is a fruit of the Spirit, who opens the heart to receive the Word not as command alone, but as invitation to transformation. St. Basil the Great likewise said, “Without the Holy Spirit, it is not possible to purify oneself, to be sanctified, or to contemplate spiritual things” (On the Holy Spirit, 15.36).
To love as God loves and to be “perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) is not merely a moral ideal but a divine calling made possible only through the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Him, we become true children of God, capable of loving even our enemies.