On Sunday (in the course of reading the Passion) we will again hear Jesus pray: Father forgive them, they know not what they do. And in this incredible expression of mercy and forgiveness, Jesus carries out his own teaching according to which we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In our struggle to obey this extremely difficult instruction, we may find ourselves identifying more easily with Jeremiah. For, although he refrains from retaliating against his enemies, he is less forgiving than Jesus. And so we hear him pray: Lord, let me see the vengeance you will take on them. Like so much else in following of Christ, we proceed by little steps. Thus, not retaliating in kind against those who harm or offend us, is a necessary first step that signals an already significant growth towards becoming more Christlike. And, although it will initially feel insincere, the next step is to actually pray for our enemies—even if this is a simple act of the will and not accompanied by feelings congruent with our prayer. For, by doing so we are expressing the desire to be able to love and pray for our enemies just as Christ did. And as Saint Stephen (the first martyr) confirms, it is possible with God’s grace for us to truly love our enemies and sincerely pray for those who persecute us. And this is because Stephen—in praying for those who stoned him—reminds us that to become holy and Christlike is to be divinized. To be divinized is to become—in Christ—what God is, namely, Love—a love that cannot exclude even enemies or not be able to pray for them.