The Call to Love Every Human Being

A Universal Command

At the center of the Christian life is a command that seems impossible to fulfill: to love every human being. Christ Himself says, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). This is not a suggestion or an option for the advanced. It is the essential path of sanctification, the very way we become saints. To love all people—past, present, and future—is to let our hearts be shaped into the likeness of Christ’s Sacred Heart.

Loving Those We See Each Day

We begin with those closest to us. Family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers we encounter in daily life—these are the immediate opportunities God gives us to practice love. Sometimes this love is easy, sometimes it is painfully hard. But love cannot remain an abstract idea. It must be lived in the ordinary and concrete details of our daily encounters.

Loving Our Enemies and the Worst of Humanity

The command of Christ goes further: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is the most radical demand of the Gospel. To love those who harm us, who hate us, who embody corruption or even evil itself, is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus who prayed for His executioners. Even the possessed, even the violent, even the traitor—every soul remains loved by God and must be loved by us. We may condemn evil, resist sin, and establish firm boundaries, but hatred must never rule our hearts.

Love Is Not Liking

It is important to distinguish true love from false substitutes. Love is not the same as liking someone or being their friend. It does not mean tolerating abuse, erasing boundaries, or holding back truth. Love is not sentimental approval. Instead, love is to will the good of the other. To pray for their salvation. To hope for their redemption. To work, when God gives opportunity, toward their flourishing. To care about them because they are beloved of God, even when their actions or choices are hateful.

Loving All Who Came Before Us

Our love also reaches backward in time. We are called to love those who lived before us—the saints and sinners alike. Our ancestors, our forebears, those whose choices shaped the world we inherit. They too were made in God’s image, and they too are part of the human family we are called to embrace in prayer and charity. When we love the past, we step into the communion of saints, which transcends time and death.

Loving All Who Are Yet to Come

Love does not end with the present or past. It also stretches forward to generations yet unborn. We love those who will come after us, who will one day walk the earth, because they too are known and loved by God even now. The saints in heaven already love us with a perfect love, even though we were not yet born when they lived. So too are we invited to love the future, to pray and to work in ways that bless those who have yet to see the light of day.

The Saints as Witnesses of Universal Love

The saints teach us what this looks like in its fullness. Every saint in heaven has been purified of hatred, selfishness, and contempt. Their love is now complete, reaching all people in every age. This is why we know with certainty that the saints love us. They desire our good, they intercede for us, they rejoice when we take even the smallest step toward God. Their universal love is the proof that sanctification is not an abstract theory but a real transformation of the heart.

Love as the Path of Sanctification

To love all human beings is not just a noble idea. It is the very path of holiness. It is the essence of sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul. As St. John tells us, “Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7–8). Love is the state of all saints, and to live in love is to live already in the life of heaven.

The Way of the Saints

To love every person—those near, those far, those who lived long ago, and those who are yet to come—is to share in the heart of Christ. This love does not ignore truth, erase boundaries, or overlook evil, but it always seeks the good of every soul. It is the defining mark of sanctity, the way in which all the saints live forever. If we desire to be saints, this is the path before us: to love everyone, always, in Christ.

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The Love of Christ Is Always Sacrificial

When we speak of love, we must remember that the love of Christ takes many forms. At times it is tender, as when He gathered children into His arms or forgave the repentant sinner. At times it is confrontational, as when He looked into the eyes of the Pharisees and exposed their hypocrisy. At times it is even angry, as when He overturned the tables of the money changers and cleansed His Father’s house. Yet in every case, His love was sacrificial. Whether He was comforting, rebuking, or correcting, it was always for the sake of the other’s good. This is the model of Christian love: not soft approval, not cowardly silence, not sentimentality, but a love that is willing to give of itself—even at great cost—for the salvation of souls.

The Paradox of Sacrificial Love

There is a mystery at the heart of Christian love. So often, the love we are called to give feels costly. To forgive an enemy, to pray for someone who has wounded us, to place another’s good before our own—it can feel like death to the self. Yet in this sacrifice, God brings forth life. The paradox is that love which feels heavy, difficult, and even painful becomes the very doorway into joy. In pouring ourselves out, we are filled. In losing ourselves for the sake of another, we find peace that the world cannot give. This is why the saints, who suffered so much in loving God and neighbor, radiated such joy. Sacrificial love wounds the pride but heals the soul, and always leads us deeper into the eternal happiness of God.