Dear Friends,
In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and some other disciples declare, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Our religion is not a religion of convenience, no matter how much we attempt to make it convenient. It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. We have heard in the Gospel readings the last few Sundays from John 15, in which Jesus says, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends...This I command you: love one another.” Love is not convenient.
I share with you a passage from the book The Primacy of Love by August Adam:
“Much of the confusion on this point may arise from the fact that the concepts of love and of morality are not always viewed in sharp focus. The love of which our Lord speaks, and which the apostles praise so highly, is something altogether different from the emotions so gaudily depicted in modern romances, plays, and films. Probably no other word or concept in the language is so misunderstood or so misused as love. Some people are quite satisfied that it means nothing more than compassion and mercy toward the weak and ailing; but that is only one of the many forms and functions of love. Others give the word a still narrower interpretation by confining it solely to sex and, even in this sphere, to pure emotion—love in their estimation is really only a by-product which may be lacking completely in the most precious love of all—that love which calls for heroic self-sacrifice or sober, everyday performance of duty. Nor does love consist solely of the performance of good works on this, that, or the other humanitarian ground. Even the complete abandonment of all personal possession for the benefit of the poor is not love itself—it can indeed miss the true essence of love, as the apostle points out (1 Cor. 13:3).
In the Holy Scriptures the word charity has a very broad meaning. But three essentials stand out clearly:
- The love of God toward man, which is revealed first and foremost in the eternal mystery of Christ (true God and true man) and His salvation, the fruit of which is the supernatural lifting up of man. Here caritas [charity] equals healing grace 'which is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit who is given to us' (Rom. 5:5).
- Man's answer to this: the complete and utter surrender of the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole mind, and the whole strength, which expresses itself outwardly in doing God's will by true obedience to the divine commandments. 'For this is the charity of God: that we keep his commandments' (1 John 5:3).
- The love men should bear toward one another, insofar as it does not spring from natural motives, but is grounded in love of God, the Creator, and Christ, the Head; this is caritas fraternitatis [fraternal charity]—'Let the charity of brotherhood abide in you' (Heb. 13:1)—which Christ proclaimed as the commandment of the New Covenant (John 13:34). This is the sign by which disciples may be recognized (John 13:35), and which St. Paul describes as being more important than faith or martyrdom (1 Cor. 13:1).”
We are saints under construction, obeying Christ's commandment to love as He has loved us and to lay down our lives for others. Have a great week!
In Christ,
Fr. Matt