Love, revisited

Someone - I don't know who - came up with the following thought: "the people who are hardest to love, need love the most". How does that make you feel? It sounds simple enough, but give it a few moments thought. Suppose it is actually true and suppose we actually acted as if it were true... Then it becomes a very radical concept. Because it would make us do the opposite of what we are now doing. We normally despise those who are hardest to love: I mean criminals, like rapists, murderers and the like. We deny them not only love, but even affection, care sometimes, good companionship... What if we started to act differently? Is this a naive notion, totally unworkable, insane? Is it stupid to see criminals rather as sick and in need of healing, than bad and in need of punishment?
At least there are people who put it into practice... There are numerous people who reach out to the poor and the starving, but there are few who find the courage to try to love the most unwanted. Mother Antonia, called the prison angel of Tijana, is one of them. No matter how you feel about religious callings, you can check out her story here. A longer article is here.