
Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.1
Enemies
have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have. Friends have
bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished
all my aspirations in the world.
Enemies
have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of
the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted
animal, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary,
having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor
enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and
do not curse them.
They,
rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They
have flagellated me, whenever I have hesitated to flagellate myself.
They
have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.
They
have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me,
whenever I have filled myself
with arrogance.
Bless
my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Whenever
I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.
Whenever
I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.
Whenever
I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.
Whenever
I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.
Whenever
I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.
Whenever
I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have
demolished it and driven me out.
Truly,
enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands
to the hem of Your garment.
Bless
my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
Bless
them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly
against me --
so
that my fleeing to You may have no return; so that all hope in men may be
scattered like cobwebs; so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my
soul;
so
that my heart may become the grave of my two evils twins: arrogance and
anger;
so
that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;2
ah,
so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled
me in the dreadful web of illusory life.
Enemies
have taught me to know -- what hardly anyone knows -- that a person has no
enemies in the world except himself.
One
hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies,
but cruel friends.
It
is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has
done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.
Therefore
bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies.
A
slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them,
for he understands.
For
a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely
steps among them and prays to God for them.
Bless my enemies, O
Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.
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1. Matt. 5:43-48.
2.
Matt. 6:19-21.
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