Compassion, Forgiveness, and Love of Enemies

 

7.2: Compassion, Forgiveness, and Love of Enemies

Opening Reflection

This lesson focuses on the most transformative and radiant teachings of the Orthodox ascetical life: love—especially love for one’s enemies, compassion (ርኀራኄ), and forgiveness (ይቅርታ). These virtues were not optional for the Church Fathers; they were the very expression of union with God. They taught that the true measure of a person’s spiritual maturity is revealed in their capacity to forgive, show mercy, and love without condition.

1. The Command to Love Our Enemies

Matthew 5:44–45 instructs, “እኔ ግን እላችኋለሁ፥ በሰማያት ላለ አባታችሁ ልጆች ትሆኑ ዘንድ ጠላቶቻችሁን ውደዱ፥ የሚረግሙአችሁንም መርቁ፥ ለሚጠሉአችሁም መልካም አድርጉ፥ ስለሚያሳድዱአችሁም ጸልዩ፤ እርሱ በክፎዎችና በበጎዎች ላይ ፀሐይን ያወጣልና፥ በጻድቃንና በኃጢአተኞችም ላይ ዝናቡን ያዘንባልና።”

This is not a call to moral idealism, but an invitation to imitate God. The verse emphasizes that to be children of God, we are called to love even those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who harm us.

St. Silouan the Athonite: “The soul that has come to know the Lord... has compassion for all creation, and especially for those who do not know God or oppose Him.”

The Fathers saw this love as the goal of asceticism—not asceticism for its own sake, but for the heart to become a burning hearth of divine love.

2. Compassion: Seeing Others Through God’s Eyes

The Desert Fathers were deeply compassionate toward the suffering of others. Even amidst their rigorous ascetic lives, they never became hardened or prideful.

Example:

• A monk once criticized Abba Agathon for having a small knife. Abba Agathon calmly replied, “I need this to cut my bread, but you can criticize me.” The monk noticed his kindness and calmness, not anger.

Colossians 3:12 advises, “እንግዲህ እንደ እግዚአብሔር ምርጦች ቅዱሳን ሆናችሁ የተወደዳችሁም ሆናችሁ፥ ምሕረትን፥ ርኅራኄን፥ ቸርነትን፥ ትህትናን፥ የዋህነትን፥ ትዕግሥትን ልበሱ ::”

St. Isaac the Syrian (613–700 AD): “A merciful heart is a heart on fire for the whole of creation… for every created thing.”  

Compassion (ርኀራኄ) is not sentimentality (ስሜታዊነት), but the sharing of another’s burden. It flows from deep humility and likeness to Christ.

3. Forgiveness: Letting Go as Liberation

Forgiveness in the Fathers’ teaching is both a command and a healing path.

Matthew 6 : 14 - 15  teaches,“ ለሰዎች ኃጢአታቸውን ይቅር ብትሉ፥ የሰማዩ አባታችሁ እናንተን ደግሞ ይቅር ይላችኋልና፤ ለሰዎች ግን ኃጢአታቸውን ይቅር ባትሉ፥ አባታችሁም ኃጢአታችሁን ይቅር አይላችሁም።.”

This verse highlights that forgiveness is a command because Christ requires us to forgive others as a condition for receiving God’s forgiveness. It is also a healing path because forgiving releases the heart from bitterness, restores inner peace, and opens the soul to spiritual growth.

Refusing forgiveness blocks grace in our lives. The Fathers recognized that retaining resentment (ቂም) is a form of spiritual poison.

St. John Climacus (579–649 A.D.): “Remembrance of wrongs is the peak of anger, the holder of sins, the destruction of virtues, the poison of the soul.”

Patristic Wisdom:

• Abba Zeno said, “If a man wants God to hear his prayer, let him first forgive those who have wronged him.”
• Forgiveness is not just for enemies—it is for ourselves, to free us from the chains of bitterness and spiritual death.

4. Loving One’s Enemies: The Peak of Christlikeness

Few teachings of Christ are more difficult—and more transformative.

Romans 12:20 –21 states, “ጠላትህ ግን ቢራብ አብላው፤ ቢጠማ አጠጣው፤ ይህን በማድረግህ በራሱ ላይ የእሳት ፍም ትከምራለህና።ክፉውን በመልካም አሸንፍ እንጂ በክፉ አታሸነፍ።.”

This was not symbolic for the Fathers. They literally cared for persecutors (አሳዳጆች), refused revenge, and interceded (prayed) for their killers.

Example:

• St. Stephen, the first martyr, prayed: “ተንበርክኮም፦ ጌታ ሆይ፥ ይህን ኃጢአት አትቍጠርባቸው ብሎ በታላቅ ድምፅ ጮኸ። ይህንም ብሎ አንቀላፋ።” (Acts 7:60)
• St. Dionysius of Alexandria (190–265 AD) offered aid and healing to pagans who persecuted the Church during a plague.
• St. Silouan wrote: “Loving enemies means praying earnestly for them.”

For the Fathers, this love was not mere tolerance (መቻቻል ብቻ)—it was genuine intercession, tears, and a heartfelt desire for the other’s salvation.

5. Why Ascetics Are Called to Love

The ascetical life (መንፈሳዊ ተጋድሎ) or self-discipline strips away self-will, pride, and the ego (ራስ ወዳደነት) so that the love of God may dwell richly within. Asceticism without love becomes prideful. But when love governs all things, even the toughest fasting becomes sweet, because it is done for the love of Christ and the healing of the world.

1 John 4:20-21 writes,  “ ማንም፦ እግዚአብሔርን እወዳለሁ እያለ ወንድሙን ቢጠላ ሐሰተኛ ነው፤ ያየውን ወንድሙን የማይወድ ያላየውን እግዚአብሔርን ሊወደው እንዴት ይችላል? እግዚአብሔርንም የሚወድ ወንድሙን ደግሞ እንዲወድ ይህች ትእዛዝ ከእርሱ አለችን።”

St. Maximos the Confessor (580 - 662 AD): “He who loves God will certainly love his neighbor also.”

6. Practical Ways to Grow in Compassion and Forgiveness

• Pray daily for your enemies by name, especially during the Jesus Prayer.
• Confess judgmental thoughts, even if they remain unspoken in your heart.
• Interrupt angry or resentful (ቂመኛ) thoughts with “Lord, have mercy on [Name].”
• Seek reconciliation quickly, even if it wasn’t your fault.

Matthew 5:23–24 commands, “እንግዲህ መባህን በመሠዊያው ላይ ብታቀርብ፥ በዚያም ወንድምህ አንዳች በአንተ ላይ እንዳለው ብታስብ፥በዚያ በመሠዊያው ፊት መባህን ትተህ ሂድ፥ አስቀድመህም ከወንድምህ ጋር ታረቅ፥ በኋላም መጥተህ መባህን አቅርብ።”

• Give alms (ምጽዋት) as an act of love, bringing mercy and healing to the world.

Conclusion

The Orthodox Fathers achieved true success in their ascetical life through the practice of profound love. True asceticism culminates in love—compassionate, forgiving, and Christ-like—even toward those who hurt us. This love is not a sign of weakness, but the highest triumph of grace over sin. It manifests the victory of the Cross in everyday life, transforming the heart and the world around us.

Luke 6:36 – “አባታችሁ ርኅሩኅ እንደ ሆነ ርኅሩኆች ሁኑ።”

Reflection Questions

1. Who is one person I need to forgive right now, and what holds me back?
2. Do I view love as a feeling or a spiritual discipline?
3. How can I incorporate compassion into my prayer life and fasting?

 Closing Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, Lover of Mankind, You who commanded us to love even our enemies, bless our hearts with true compassion, forgiveness, and humility. Teach us, like the Holy Fathers, to see others through Your eyes, to share their burdens, and to pray for those who oppose or hurt us. Deliver us from resentment, pride, and hardness of heart, and let Your grace transform our anger into mercy, our bitterness into love, and our weakness into strength in You. Through the prayers of your Holy Mother and all the saints, Amen!