Catholic prayer for your enemies

Jesus said to his disciples, “I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

This isn’t easy in practice, as we often would rather do something else to our enemies, especially when they repeatedly hurt us.

Yet, Jesus challenges us to pray for our enemies, and we can start doing that as best we can. Here is a prayer adapted from the St. Andrew Daily Missal that we can pray, even when we don’t feel like it.

O God, the lover and guardian of peace and charity,
grant unto all our enemies true peace and charity,
together with remission of all their sins,
and by your power deliver us from their wiles.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Read more:When you have difficulty loving your enemies, pray this prayer