It may be that our clergy doesn't address this topic of hate as much as they should. The subtleties of this vocabulary are pretty important. Hate is forbidden to us, yet there is the virtue of "holy hatred," along with "holy pride," "holy envy," "holy anger" and (perhaps surprisingly) even "holy arrogance."
As best as I can understand, what these somewhat strange "holies" involve is what we should actually do with the energies that are involved in, for example, immoral hatred, pride, envy or arrogance. (What a list!) Those energies do exist and something should be done with them in a positive way as well as the negative approach of simply suppressing them. We can't overcome those harmful vices through suppressing them only -- although we had better practice a lot of that too, needless to say!
So we should not only suppress our ordinary sinful hatreds but also reapply the powerful energies involved in hatred over to "holy hatred," which is actually simply fervent zeal for the good. This zeal is NOT literally hatred anymore, but it applies and uses our energies that would otherwise go into sinful hatred over into ZEAL. Which should be a positive constructive attitude, not bitter. When zeal becomes bitter, then that indicates we're being self-centered in our zeal and not truly devoting it to God and religion, as such a powerful energy as "holy hatred" or religious zeal needs to be.
If our zeal is true, then it will not be bitter or self-centered and will be a powerful and important aide for us with which to serve the Lord and the very self-less true interests of the Good God. Needless to say, no one is saying here that "holy hatred" is among the easier virtues to achieve! But if we are possessed with much hatred, then we had better get busy and learn to master the great and admirable virtue named "holy hatred"!
It's relevant here to note as well that "holy hatred" is also the prime and most certain sign and mark of TRUE LOVE. Where there is true love, there is always bƖσσdshɛd and the truest proof of love is the fiery zeal that is the virtue of holy hatred. On his Cross, Our Lord also burned with HOLY HATRED against sin and evil (aka "the Jєωs") and thereby showed his TRUE LOVE for everything good and truly human.
Similar patterns apply to the other "holies" mentioned above. "Holy anger" isn't literal anger itself but it is using the very real high energies of would-be sinful anger to get things done that need doing. Sometimes hard work can benefit from a good dose of such "holy anger." Similarly "holy envy" isn't literally envying others, but rather being envious about completely legitimate concerns like the honor of our families, for example. To have a "holy envy" for the honor and welfare of one's own family is a great virtue and no vice, yet it can often use the energies of what might otherwise be a sinful envy against others.
"Holy pride" is often another name for Christian manhood, "holy vanity" could describe the laudable concern of Catholic women for beauty and "holy arrogance" is a fierce warrior virtue that may not often be of too much concern to the Catholic ladies.
Perhaps our clergy might talk more about these important virtues and thereby help us to sometimes escape more easily from the terrible curse that is the vice of unholy hatred. There's nothing more miserable than being possessed by hatred and learning holy zeal is one important way for overcoming that deadly trap.
Topic: Hating Others (Read 1344 times)