Divine Love

I wrote this as a comment on a friend's blog and thought I would share it here, too.

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What does God’s love look like?

His love is manifest not only to our sight, but each of our senses given to us for the purpose of experiencing and taking in His goodness!

To me, the Divine Romancer expresses His love daily, vividly, enchantingly... in the passionate colors of a sunset... the engulfing power of the ocean... the caressing petal of a rose... the precious face of a baby... the piercing beauty of a line of quality music. Lovers often say, "I'd hang the moon in the sky for you if I could..." well, He can and DOES! :)

How do you know God loves you?

Countless, numerous ways, both big and small. I know that He called me into being from all eternity with a unique, individualized mission for my life. Every skill and talent I possess is a free gift from Him. And the God of the universe loves His people so deeply as to make Himself a prisoner of love in every tabernacle in the world, just to be physically present to us!

To look at the crucifix is the ultimate picture of love (I know a couple that chose to hold a crucifix during their wedding vows for this very reason!). And I am always moved by the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When He appeared to St. Margaret Mary and she saw His heart aflame and pierced and bleeding, His words were: "Behold the Heart that so much loves man!"

When do you most feel His love?

When I receive Him sacramentally, when I spend time in His presence, gazing at the monstrance holding His body, and when I allow myself to marvel in childlike awe at the majesty of his creation. I know His love and see His smile when I look at the family and friends I've been blessed with, and when He answers very specific prayers! For example, yesterday we had a surprise outdoor 50th birthday party for my Mom. Thunderstorms were predicted, but I knew and trusted all along the the Lord (and His Blessed Mother, whom I often ask for help with details like this) would defy the forecast for us. We prayed with confidence, and the morning's rain gave way to pleasant sunshine in perfect timing for our celebration, which was blessed in every way! As the weather is something that is completely out of our human control, I'm very moved whenever the Lord grants a miracle like that!

I believe that the struggle is not in God lacking expression of His love, but in our failure to recognize it. As the convert, philosopher, and author G.K. Chesterton so wonderfully said...

"The world is not starved for lack of wonders, but for lack of wonder."

"Love Is Not Tolerance"

What does it really mean to love authentically? How do we walk the fine line between tender and tough love? The great speaker and TV evangelist Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen offers timeless guidance in this poem...

Love is Not Tolerance

Christian love bears evil, but it does not tolerate it.

It does penance for the sins of others, but it is not broadminded about sin.

The cry for tolerance never induces it to quench its hatred of the evil philosophies that have entered into contest with the Truth.

It forgives the sinner, and it hates the sin; it is unmerciful to the error in his mind.

The sinner it will always take back into the bosom of the Mystical Body; but his lie will never be taken into the treasury of His Wisdom.

Real love involves real hatred: whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive the buyers and sellers from the temples has also lost a living, fervent love of Truth.

Charity, then, is not a mild philosophy of "live and let live"; it is not a species of sloppy sentiment.

Charity is the infusion of the Spirit of God, which makes us love the beautiful and hate the morally ugly.

Today's Quote

"The present moment holds infinite riches beyond your wildest dreams but you will only enjoy them to the extent of your faith and love. The more a soul loves, the more it longs, the more it hopes, the more it finds. The will of God is manifest in each moment, an immense ocean which only the heart fathoms insofar as it overflows with faith, trust and love."

—Jean-Pierre De Caussade in The Sacrament of the Present Moment

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I think that book needs to be on my reading list!

Papa Benedict on Purity

I just found this wonderful quote from World Youth Day 2008:

"Authentic love is obviously something good. Without it, life would hardly be worth living. It fulfils our deepest need, and when we love, we become most fully ourselves, most fully human. But how easily it can be made into a false god! People often think they are being loving when actually they are being possessive or manipulative. People sometimes treat others as objects to satisfy their own needs rather than as persons to be loved and cherished. How easy it is to be deceived by the many voices in our society that advocate a permissive approach to sexuality, without regard for modesty, self-respect or the moral values that bring quality to human relationships! This is worship of a false god. Instead of bringing life, it brings death."

A Picture of Love

My column in this weekend's bulletin at the parish where I am Religious Education Coordinator. Happy St. Valentine's Day to my readers!

Today is Valentine’s Day, concluding National Marriage Week which was February 7-14! Despite what many think, this is not just another Hallmark holiday. This day actually started as the celebration of a wonderful Catholic Saint:

St. Valentine, a priest in Rome during the persecution of Christians in the 200’s, risked his life to help his fellow Christians to worship in secret. When the Emperor Claudius issued a decree forbidding marriage (in order to increase troops for his army, believing that single men made better soldiers than married men), Valentine defied this decree and urged young lovers to come to him in secret so that he could join them in the sacrament of matrimony. He knew that marriage is a holy union willed by God. Eventually he was discovered by the Emperor and was thrown into prison. While in prison, Valentine converted his jailor to the Christian Faith, and also healed the jailor’s daughter, who was blind. Legend has it that while in jail, he wrote letters to encourage the Christians and signed them “From Your Valentine”. He was martyred on February 14, and his feast day became Valentine’s Day.

Our society has a lot of mixed-up ideas about love. We might hear someone say “I love pizza”… then “I love my wife” and “I love Jesus”! In reality, love can only be toward a person – never a thing. It is about much more than flowers, balloons, chocolates, poetic cards, or warm feelings. True love is not just expressed in a costly gift, but in the giving of oneself. It can be much easier to bare one’s wallet than it is to bare one’s heart.

If we want a picture of love, all we need do is look at the cross. Jesus Christ, Love incarnate, came to show us that love equals sacrifice. He said to us: “This is how much I love you” – and then gave up His life for us.

How many spouses get motivated to do something memorable and romantic today, and then return to Mr. or Mrs. Grouch tomorrow? The challenge to each of us today is this: Am I willing to lay down my life – or at the very least, my comforts or preferences – for the sake of the one that I love?

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

"Joy is a net of love

by which you can catch souls."

"Intense love does not measure,

it just gives."

"Love begins at home,

and it is not how much we do...

but how much love we put in that action."

"I have found the paradox,

that if you love until it hurts,

there can be no more hurt, only more love."

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God

who is sending a love letter to the world."

(Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

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"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows.

For love is the beauty of the soul."

(Saint Augustine of Hippo)

Miss Anna at Maidens of Worth has a beautiful reflection here.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Valentine...All The Time

This past weekend, this was my article for my parish's bulletin, in which I have a weekly column as Religious Education Director. I thought it would be worthwhile to share here, too!

Yesterday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day. Despite what many think, this is not just another Hallmark holiday or a get-you-to-spend-more-money tactic. For the Christian, and especially for the Catholic Christian, Saint Valentine’s Day is much richer. The roses you received will wither in a few days, and the chocolate may disappear too quickly (before reappearing on your hips or waist), but the meaning of the day doesn’t have to be so temporary. Love is about much more than flowers, balloons, chocolates, poetic cards, or warm feelings. How many spouses get motivated to do something memorable and romantic on February 14, and then return to Mr. or Mrs. Grouch the next day? Yesterday’s card may have said “I Love You”, but how about their actions?

There is a fabulous new movie (just released January 27 on DVD) which tells a powerful story of a husband learning how to truly love his wife…authentically and unconditionally. Fireproof is a brilliant combination of tenderness, action, intensity, and humor. Its message is one of inspiration and hope for everyone, married couples and singles alike. (Check out http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/).

The challenge to you today, then, is this: don’t let the “Valentine spirit” droop as quickly as those roses will. True love is not just expressed in the costly gift, but in the giving of oneself. It can be much easier to bare one’s wallet than it is to bare one’s heart.

If we want a picture of love, all we need do is look at the cross. Jesus Christ, Love incarnate, came to show us that love equals sacrifice. Are you willing to lay down your life – or at the very least, your comforts or preferences – for the sake of the one you love?

Advent Day 9: The Immaculate Conception

“What a great gift to have Mary Immaculate as mother! A mother resplendent with beauty, the transparency of God's love. I am thinking of today's young people, who grow up in an environment saturated with messages that propose false models of happiness. These young men and women risk losing hope because they often seem orphans of true love, which fills life with true meaning and joy. This was a theme dear to my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, who so often proposed Mary to the youth of our time as the ‘Mother of Fair Love’… How sad it is when youth lose the wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful sentiments, the value of respect for the body, the manifestation of the person and his unfathomable mystery! Mary Immaculate, whom we contemplate in all her beauty and holiness, reminds us of all this.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus Address, December 8, 2007

On the Triumph of Love...

"Love cannot triumph unless it becomes the one passion of our life. Without such passion we may produce isolated acts of love; but our life is not really won over or consecrated to an ideal. Until we have a passionate love for our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament we shall accomplish nothing."

~St. Peter Julian Eymard

To a Young Girl

From Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, one of my favorite theologian-philosophers...

Let us take off our “secular” eyeglasses, and then we shall be able to see that women, far from being “discriminated” against, are in many ways privileged. And this is the “secret” I wish to share with you. The body of every little girl born into this world is mysteriously seated by what is properly called “the veil of virginity”. That is to say, a “secret” is entrusted to her body, and a secret is always “veiled”. According to Christian teaching, this veil closes the entrance to a mysterious garden which belongs to God in a special way, and for this reason cannot be entered into except with His express permission, the permission that God grants spouses in the Sacrament of Matrimony. Any little girl aware of this “mystery” will feel that her body is to be modestly clothed, so that its secret will be hidden from lewd looks.

- Letter to a Young Girl

"Be Satisfied with Me"

What timeless, wonderful wisdom from St. Anthonhy of Padua! So true, so important. So key to who we are...let this sink in today!

Be Satisfied with Me

by St. Anthony of Padua

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But to a Christian, God says, "No, not until you are satisfied,
Fulfilled and content with being loved by me alone,
With giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me.
With having an intensely personal and unique relationship with me alone.

Discovering that only in me is your satisfaction to be found,
Will you be capable of the perfect human relationship,
That I have planned for you.
You will never be united to another
Until you are united with me.
Exclusive of anyone or anything else.
Exclusive of any other desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning, to stop wishing, and allow me to give you
The most thrilling plan existing . . . one you cannot imagine.
I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching me, expecting the greatest things.
Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.
Keep listening and learning the things that I tell you.
Just wait, that's all. Don't be anxious, don't worry
Don't look around at things others have gotten
Or that I have given them
Don't look around at the things you think you want,
Just keep looking off and away up to me,
Or you'll miss what I want to show you.
And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love
Far more wonderful than you could dream of.

You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready,
I am working even at this moment
To have both of you ready at the same time.
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with me.

HT: Danielle Bean

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