Caring For Others

Καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ ἀνθρώπων ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, ἔστιν γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐλπὶς μετανοίας , ἵνα θεοῦ τύχωσιν. Ἐπιτρέψατε οὖν αὐτοῖς κἂν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ὑμῖν μαθητευθῆναι. Πρὸς τὰς ὀργὰς αὐτῶν ὑμεῖς πραεῖς , πρὸς τὰς μεγαλορημοσύνας αὐτῶν ὑμεῖς ταπεινόφρονες, πρὸς τὰς βλασφημίας αὐτῶν ὑμεῖς τὰς προσευχάς, πρὸς τὴν πλάνην αὐτῶν ὑμεῖς ἑδραῖοι τῇ πίστει, πρὸς τὸ ἄγριον αὐτῶν ὑμεῖς ἥμεροι, μὴ σπουδάζοντες ἀντιμιμήσασθαι αὐτούς. ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν εὑρεθῶμεν τῇ ἐπιεικείᾳ· μιμηταὶ δὲ τοῦ κυρίου σπουδάζωμεν εἶναι, τίς πλέον ἀδικηθῇ, τίς ἀποστερηθῇ, τίς ἀθετηθῇ· ἵνα μὴ τοῦ διαβόλου βοτάνη τις εὑρεθῇ ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν πάσῃ ἁγνείᾳ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ μένητε ἐν Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ σαρκικῶς καὶ πνευματικῶς. Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Ἐπιστολή Προς Ἐφεσιους

And for others pray without ceasing, 1 for there is in them hope of repentance that they may come to God. See, then, that they be instructed by your works. To their anger be meek, to their boasting be humble, give prayers for their blasphemies, against their error be firm in faith, 2 and to their cruelty be gentle, carefully not imitating their conduct. Let us be found their brethren in all goodness, and let us seek to be imitators of the Lord, compared to whom no one was more unjustly treated, no one more rejected, no one more condemned, so that no plant of the devil may be found in you, but that you may remain in all holiness and self control in Jesus Christ, in flesh and in spirit. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians 1 1 Thess 5.17 2 Col 1:23