Friends, in today’s readings we examine that which is the most important of all the commandments, the first and the greatest: to love—to love God with all our strength, all our souls, all our minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Saint John, from whom we hear in today’s first reading, says these words: “Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God. Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (1 Jn 4:7). So right away, just from the admonishment itself, we can deduce that John is making love not so much an affection or a reaction or an attraction, but rather a movement of our will. We need to put love into practice. It does not just come naturally.
It does not just amount to a feeling, but it is an active choice to will the good of the other. In fact, Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his philosophical clarity, once said in the Summa Theologica, “To love is to will the good of the other.” So we see somebody who is in need and we want to impart our help, our care, our attention, which will necessitate patience, sacrifice, and the giving of our time. This is why Christian love is rooted in the will, not in emotions. Feelings may follow, for sure—some pleasant, some not so pleasant—but authentic love consists in choosing the good of another, even at personal cost. Saint Teresa of Avila grounds love in action when she says, “The important thing is not to think much, but to love much.” And so do that which best steers you to love: prayer, sacrifice, and patience, especially with those who wrong us or actively work against us.
Here we see that love, according to Jesus, is so much an act of the will that it can even encompass loving our enemies. Jesus says, “If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (cf. Mt 5:46), and He commands us instead to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44). There is so much room for growth. We are all a work in progress. For Saint Francis, love meant a decision to descend—to lower oneself in humility.
He called his brothers Friars Minor because they were to take the lesser places in this world. As Our Blessed Mother proclaims in her Magnificat, “He has exalted the lowly and humbled the exalted” (Lk 1:52). Love for Saint Francis was not an emotion, but a chosen likeness to Christ, who became poor and submitted Himself to the Cross. Saint Bonaventure teaches, “The soul enters into God not by understanding, but by loving.” Saint Anthony reminds us that actions speak louder than words, calling love to be visible in obedience, purity of heart, and consistency in allowing the Spirit of God to act within us. Love is proven by action, not emotion, and is most authentic when it costs something.
In today’s Gospel we hear that when Jesus saw the vast crowd, “His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34). The apostles wanted to dismiss the crowd, but Jesus replied, “Give them some food yourselves” (Mk 6:37). Our Lord takes what seems small—the five loaves and two fish—blesses it, breaks it, and multiplies it (cf. Mk 6:38–44). Even when our efforts seem inadequate, God honors our willingness to love, to give, and to care, and He supplies what is lacking. Let us ask the Lord today to give us His Spirit of charity, compassion, and mercy, especially toward those who are difficult to love, for it is often through them that God sanctifies us and prepares us for eternal love in heaven. May the Mother of Love intercede for you and your loved ones, that God, who is Love, may reign in your homes and in your hearts.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Add comment
Comments