“We shouldn’t be enraged by people who blaspheme or who speak and act against God and the Church. Such rage is harmful. We may hate the words and the malice behind them, but we must not hate the person who spoke them nor become enraged against him. Rather we should pray for him. A Christian has love and graciousness and should behave accordingly." (Elder Porphyrios the Kapsokalyvite)
“Strive to love others! God can ignite our love for the unlovable, showing us how to extend care to the hateful, to give even when we are being used, and to go that extra mile (see Mt 5:41). Such love may seem impossible to our fleshly mind, but God mercifully equips us to extend Christ’s ministry without wavering or becoming discouraged by abuses we encounter.” (Dynamis 8/9/2018)
“It seems that we do not understand one thing: it is not good when we return the love of those who love us, yet hate those who hate us. We are not on the right path if we do this. We are the sons of light and love, the sons of God, His children. As such we must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness toward all.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
“...the Holy Spirit will help us learn self-control...The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say, so that when we are offended, the Spirit will remind us of God’s love, and we won’t react in a hateful manner. When we are criticized, the Spirit will heal the hurt and help us to not lash out.” (Life Application Study Bible, James 3:8)
“Freed from hate, sadness, and anger, we are able to receive the greatest virtue: perfect love.” (Orthodox Study Bible, ”Matthew 5:44-47)