Love kills anger.

I suppose most of you have a garden at home. And I think you’ve noticed one fact, too. If you don’t want the weeds to do you any harm, you need to pull them up while they’re still small. Just after it’s germinated. Jesus, the teacher in cultivating our spiritual life, reminded us today that a similar principle applies in the spiritual plane.
He said, “You have heard that it was said to the fathers, ‘You shall not kill.'” Therefore, whoever kills will go to trial. But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be brought to trial.” (Mt. 5:21-22).
So that sin, which is infinitely more dangerous than a weed in a garden, may not harm; it must be spotted, nipped in the bud. Preferably, when it is just sprouting, it is easiest to get rid of it and not harm oneself or one’s neighbors.

The Lord Jesus reminds us of this concerning anger. In the germ, the offense is of little intensity, perhaps related to feelings of resentment, injustice, envy… At this stage, it is not difficult to root it out, overcome it, or forgive one’s neighbor. But if one begins to nourish it within oneself, water it, feed it, and not renounce it, anger will slowly start to grow and take more profound and broader roots. And gradually, it begins to bear malignant fruit. The man himself suffers inwardly; anger eats him up, kills peace and joy in him, causes tension. One cannot keep this inner discord hidden within oneself for long. It begins to manifest itself in the form of psychological or physical harm to one’s neighbor, or even murder.

And we can still learn something important in the garden. Weeds thrive most where no plants, no vegetables, grow. That’s where it has the most nutrients, moisture, and light. So, too, sin takes root best where no virtues grow. So it is not enough to suppress anger, but one must also cultivate the positive purity of love. Be reconciled to your brother! (cf. Mt 5:24).
It is, therefore, necessary, for a moment, to turn our gaze away from the altar and look beside or even behind us, at our brothers and sisters. What is my relationship with them? Would anyone blame me for anything? Wouldn’t that be justified? But let’s not just dwell on examining our negatives, our faults in this area. Let us go further. Let’s ask positively! What could I do for them specifically? Maybe for the elderly and the infirm or those closest to me, at least something small.
We have a chronically familiar commandment: thou shalt not kill. But I do know one way of perhaps killing enemies.

The courtiers have accused Emperor Sigismund of treating his enemies so magnanimously that he should have killed them all. The Emperor replied: ‘You are right, enemies are to be destroyed – but with kindness. Then we will kill the enemies in them and make friends of them.”
Let us not be destroyed and consumed by anger, by the desire for revenge. Let us remove it by being reconciled to our neighbors, eliminating their enemies, and making more friends. Our life will become a little more beautiful, more joyful, and peaceful. Well, I wish for you and myself that this Holy Mass, where the touching love of Jesus for us is recalled, may strengthen us and reignite our desire to fight for love, peace, and reconciliation.