I have a "test" for myself. When I go to Confession seeking the forgiveness of my sins, I can best gauge my level of repentance by how much I am able to pray for those who do things like this- my 'enemies' and 'persecutors'. If I am unable to pray for them and their forgiveness, I don't dare expect forgiveness for my own sins.
In the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, one Abba (can't recall which right now) says that if you want God to hear your prayer and quickly answer, first raise your arms and pray for your worst enemy- I think this is similar to my own "test".
Our Lord Jesus Christ never minced words- so there can be absolutely no compromise about "Love your enemy, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you." This is what Our Lord expects of us, and if we don't do it, we are not His followers.
So show these men what a Christian is made of by praying for their forgiveness. The spiral of hatred choking the world right now exists because we see it as "normal" to return hatred for hatred. Somewhere it's got to stop- and the only way to stop the spiral of hate is for an extremely courageous human to absorb it without reflecting it so that it goes no further and can do no more damage.
Make no mistake, this is the "Age of the Confessors" which will seperate the wheat from the chaff. Chaff looks like wheat, but it is hallow and empty. With the "Age of Confessors", the chaff who are "Christian" in appearance and name only,will be blown away when they are called upon to" Love your enemy, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you." The wheat, the true followers of Christ who "hear his Words and do them" will be ground and will become a divine Prosforo, or will fall to the ground and die only to yeild "thirty, sixty or a hundredfold".
