He asked “Can pure love hate?” More than once. And the one line I forgot to put in there (that came to me a few times) is we are called to “hate the sin and love the sinner.”

We can and should judge actions but not hearts.Sin, by definition is missing the target you are aiming for. We can and should hate our sins and the sins of others but we are still supposed to love all, including our enemies.

Dorothy Day said we should be praying for our worst enemy with the goal of winding up NEXT TO THEM in Heaven congratulating each other for helping get us to Heaven. That’s why Reagan started praying for his shooter soon after he was shot. When Jesus was on the cross, all who surrounded Him had become His enemies so He wasn’t merely dying for his loved ones but also sacrificing His life for His enemies.

The Bible and Church very clearly teach us repeatedly that God is love itself and we are to love all including our enemies (that is the standard He set for us so why would we think a perfect Creator doesn’t follow the standards He gave to His children?).

Anger and even wrath aren’t hate. I’ve felt both for people I love. Fathers can (and should) get angry, disappointed and hurt because a father’s job is to help his child become the very best person that they can be. And maybe a child thinks “my dad hates me” when their dad is angry or full wrath but when you actually become a father, you see it all very differently. And sure, there are many imperfect fathers but I can’t buy into an argument that a perfect God is less than perfect.