Bishop Varlaam: Christ’s command to love our enemies opens the path to true happiness
Patriarchal Auxiliary Bishop Varlaam of Ploiești said on Sunday at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest that Christ’s command to love one’s enemies opens the way to “true happiness, which is not measured by material gain but by peace and joy of the heart.”
In his homily, Bishop Varlaam explained that this commandment lifts believers above human logic and “teaches us to adopt Christ’s way of thinking.”
“The Gospel of this Sunday reveals Christ’s essential teaching about loving one’s enemies and shows how the faithful are called to live according to the commandments of the Gospel,” he said.
“This commandment is not limited to words but calls us to overcome the logic of revenge and hatred that dominates human nature. It teaches us to see in every person the image of God and the possibility of salvation.”
True happiness is measured in peace, not possessions
To love one’s enemies, the bishop said, means “to respond to evil with good, to persecution with prayer, and to offences with forgiveness—transforming ourselves and opening the path to true happiness, measured not by material possessions but by peace and joy of heart.”
He added that this commandment can indeed be lived out, as shown by the lives of the saints. “The saints offer us concrete examples of this unconditional love through acts of mercy and through following Christ, even unto the sacrifice of their lives,” Bishop Varlaam said.
“They teach us that what seems impossible for man becomes possible through God’s grace, and that our lives can become a living testimony of divine love and forgiveness.”
As an example, he cited Saint Basil the Great, who, despite being born into a wealthy family, distributed his inheritance to the poor and founded the Vasiliada—a “city of mercy” featuring hospitals, orphanages, and shelters for the needy.
Photo: Lumina Newspaper
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