Back to the topic of prayer, I have come to look at prayer as the purest form of love. Who would even consider praying a prayer with malicious motives? So when we pray for people, we are loving them. When we ask people to pray for us we are asking to be loved. Praying for others and asking others to pray for us is the loop that binds together the fabric of the communion of saints.
I wonder if the saints in heaven aren't spending their time praying for all of us here on earth (and those in purgatory). Loving us, and waiting for us to love them in return.
Inspired by that thought, I have taken to praying for everyone I have an opportunity to pray for, particularly people I have contact with: Drivers and other people who annoy me, clerks and people in front of me who are slow, people who tick me off or tempt me in some way. Also people who are kind to me (these people I ask God to bless). Even people I just notice for no particular reason. Sometimes I think God puts people in my life just so I can pray for them and get credit for whatever good happens in their life. :-) I also pray for whatever people come to mind. I am hoping that such habits can enkindle the fire of divine love in my heart.
It just isn't possible to hate someone that you pray for.
Well, at least not while you're praying for them. :-)
Good thought, Eric.
I wish that we prayed for our enemies at the Prayer of the Faithful during Sunday Mass. We don't even need to specify who "our enemies" are. We pray for our troops in Iraq, we pray for the end of war, violence and terrorism, but we don't pray explicitly for our enemies. Seems to me like every Catholic Church throughout the world should make that a regular part of the Prayer of the Faithful, just as we all regularly pray for our sick, our dead, our priests, etc. Let's explicitly pray for our enemies. Rae