Called to Bless, Not to Curse

Fr. Scott A. Haynes

A Meditation on 1 Peter 3:8–15

“And finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble: Not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing; but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8–9)

There are words in Scripture that do not so much whisper as thunder. They summon us, like a trumpet sounding in the wilderness, to a higher life—the life of grace, the life of the Cross, the life patterned after the meek and suffering Lamb. In this passage from St. Peter, the first pope and prince of the apostles, we are summoned to nothing less than the imitation of Christ crucified, in our hearts and in our interactions with others.

Peter, the one who once drew his sword in the garden and later wept bitterly for denying the Lord, now writes to scattered Christians undergoing persecution. And he does not offer them merely a strategy for surviving suffering, but a divine vocation—to bless those who curse them, to repay evil with good, to suffer without fear, and to stand fast with sanctity and humility in a world that hated their Lord.

This meditation explores how we, too, are called to this radiant contradiction.

“Be Ye All of One Mind”: The Unity of the Redeemed

Peter begins with a charge to unity: “Be ye all of one mind.” This is not a call to uniformity of preferences or personalities but to unity in truth and charity. The Church Fathers taught that unity of mind among Christians is the fruit of unity of faith and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.

St. Cyprian of Carthage thundered:

“The Church is one, which is spread abroad far and wide into a multitude by an increase of fruitfulness. As there are many rays of the sun, but one light, and many branches of a tree, but one strong trunk grounded in the root, so the Church, though she extends her rays over the whole earth, yet is one light.”¹

To be of one mind is to subordinate personal opinions to the eternal Word of God. It means holding firm to the teachings handed down from the Apostles and being united in the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Church, like a harp, finds its harmony when each string is tuned to Christ, the Master Musician. Dissonance comes when we tune ourselves instead to the world’s tone.

“Having Compassion One of Another”: The Radiance of Mercy

Compassion is the soul’s imitation of Christ’s wounded heart. The Latin compassio means “to suffer with.” When Peter commands believers to have compassion, he echoes the command of Christ:

“Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

St. Augustine wrote:

“If you want to draw God’s mercy upon yourself, show mercy to your neighbor. For what will you say to God? ‘Give me, for I gave.’”²

To weep with those who weep, to feel the sorrows of others as one’s own, is to imitate the Incarnate Word who “bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4). The Christian is never cold, never aloof. He carries in his heart a fire enkindled at the altar of Calvary.

How radiant is the soul that bears within it a wellspring of compassion! Such a soul can heal wounds merely by being present. It listens without haste, gives without demanding return, and speaks with tenderness even when the world shouts with rage.

“Lovers of the Brotherhood, Merciful, Modest, Humble”

Here, Peter paints the spiritual icon of a Christian in miniature strokes. Let us gaze at each:

• Lovers of the brotherhood: Fraternal charity is the test of genuine faith. As St. John says, “He that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?” (1 John 4:20).

• Merciful: The merciful do not merely forgive but delight in mercy. They resemble God who rejoices not in punishment but in restoration.

• Modest: This is more than modesty in dress—it is modesty of speech, ambition, and demeanor. The modest soul is not boastful but cloaked in simplicity.

• Humble: Humility is the foundation of every virtue. As St. Jerome said, “Humility is the first, second, and third virtue of the Christian.”³ Without it, we are but clanging cymbals—even our good deeds rot under the weight of pride.

“Not Rendering Evil for Evil... But Contrariwise, Blessing”

This is the luminous paradox of Christianity: that evil must be answered with blessing. The world teaches vengeance. Christ teaches the Cross.

Tertullian, that fiery apologist of the early Church, once marveled:

“To love friends is the custom of all people, but to love enemies belongs only to Christians.”⁴

Why do we bless those who curse us? Because Christ did. “Father, forgive them,” He prayed for His executioners (Luke 23:34). Every Christian must drink from that same chalice.

To curse those who curse us is easy. To bless them is divine. And Peter says,

“Unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing.” 

The measure of our mercy becomes the measure of our reward. Those who sow blessings in the field of persecution will reap eternal joy in the harvest of Heaven.

“He that Will Love Life, and See Good Days…”

Now Peter reaches into the Psalms to exhort us to holy living. He quotes Psalm 33:

“Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him decline from evil and do good: let him seek after peace and pursue it.” (1 Pet. 3:10–11)

The Fathers interpreted this Psalm in Christological light. St. Basil the Great taught that the peace we pursue is not merely the absence of conflict, but union with the Prince of Peace. To seek peace is to chase after Christ with all one's heart, leaving behind the snares of the devil.

Our tongues, Peter warns, must be free from deceit. How easily our lips betray the Lord—not with curses, but with slander, gossip, sarcasm, and murmuring. The tongue, St. James reminds us, is “a world of iniquity” (James 3:6). But it can also become an instrument of grace—blessing, praising, and proclaiming the Gospel.

“The Eyes of the Lord Are Upon the Just”

There is a hidden consolation here for the suffering Christian. You are never abandoned. “The eyes of the Lord are upon the just,” Peter writes, “and His ears unto their prayers.” This is a sacred promise.

St. John Chrysostom taught that when Christians suffer with patience, they shine more brightly than gold refined in fire. He wrote:

“As fire does not hurt gold, but only makes it shine, so tribulation does not destroy the Christian, but reveals his splendor.”⁵

The world may pass you by. Your friends may abandon you. But God’s gaze never departs from the just. His eyes pierce through the fog of tears, His ears catch the whisper of every prayer uttered in pain, and His hand holds your soul even in the furnace.

“And Who is He That Can Hurt You, If You Be Zealous of Good?”

This is no guarantee of physical safety. Peter himself would be crucified upside-down. Yet in another sense, no one can truly harm a soul that is anchored in Christ. The martyrs lost their lives, but gained crowns. They were tortured, but never conquered.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, wrote to the Romans:

“Let me be food for the beasts, through whom it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”⁶

The zealous cannot be defeated. Their joy confounds their persecutors. Their peace silences the rage of tyrants. In every century, the blood of these burning souls has become the seed of the Church.

“Sanctify the Lord Christ in Your Hearts”

Here Peter places before us the heart of Christian witness. To “sanctify the Lord Christ” means to enthrone Him in the sanctuary of your soul. Your interior life becomes a living tabernacle. He reigns over your thoughts, desires, fears, and affections.

This verse calls to mind the holy fear and trembling with which Israel regarded the Ark of the Covenant. How much more should we reverence the living Christ who dwells within us?

St. Gregory of Nyssa described this sanctification as a fiery transformation:

“When the soul is purified and the eye of the heart made clean, it sees the image of the invisible God.”⁷

When we sanctify Christ within, our lives become radiant with His presence. People see Him in us—through our gentleness, courage, purity, and hope. We become, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “the sweet odor of Christ unto God” (2 Cor. 2:15).

“Be Ready Always to Satisfy Everyone That Asketh You a Reason of the Hope That is in You”

And now Peter reaches the great evangelistic mandate: be ready to give an answer. The Greek word here is apologia—a reasoned defense. The Christian must be able to speak the hope he bears, not only live it. But notice: it is the hope within us that provokes the question.

Hope is not wishful thinking. It is the confident expectation of glory, even through trial. It is a supernatural virtue that sees through prison walls and executioner’s blades and beholds the face of Christ beyond.

St. Thomas Aquinas described hope as “a stretching forth of the appetite towards future good.”⁸ When Christians live in hope, they walk upright in a crumbling world. They are like lighthouses in the storm.

But Peter adds an essential note: we must give this defense “with meekness and fear.” Not with arrogance, not with harsh polemics, but with humility. The truth must be wielded like a chalice, not a dagger.

Conclusion: Heirs of Blessing

In this passage, St. Peter gives us not only a rule of conduct but a vision of sanctity. It is a sanctity that endures insult with serenity, responds to hatred with love, and offers a testimony of hope that astonishes the world.

The Christian is called to bless, not to curse. To heal, not to wound. To suffer, not to retaliate. And to hope—always to hope.

Let us therefore sanctify the Lord in our hearts, love the brotherhood, show mercy, pursue peace, and stand ready with the torch of hope. For unto this are we called: not merely to survive, but to bless.

Footnotes

1. Cyprian of Carthage, De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate, 5, in Patrologia Latina 4:501.

2. Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 206, On Almsgiving, in Patrologia Latina 38:1038.

3. Jerome, Letter 52 to Nepotian, in Patrologia Latina 22:529.

4. Tertullian, Apologeticus, 39, in Patrologia Latina 1:533.

5. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans, Homily 25, in Patrologia Graeca 60:648.

6. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Ch. 4, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1.

7. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Beatitudes, Sermon 6, in Patrologia Graeca 44:1273.

8. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 17, a. 1.