WHAT IS LOVE?

God IS love.

God does not possess love like it is something other—something outside Himself. God did not create love, as if it is material. Nor is it ours to grasp. 

Love is freely given to every living creature on earth that they may fulfill their purpose in glorifying God. Humans are the only creatures that can choose to love or choose not to love.

When we want to understand love, when we want to be loving, we go to God. There is no other source of love than God Himself. All love we see in the world finds its source in the Creator. Each act of kindness, each patient word, each sacrifice for another has an unseen and often unrecognized mover. God is glorified in each selfless act, no matter who gets earthly credit. He is pleased when humans show they are made in His image by even the tiniest acts of self-giving. Each glimmer of goodness reflects back to He-who-is-good.

We often mistake love for comfortable, emotional sentimentality—a feeling that warms and soothes us. Yet love is so much bigger than that. While love is feeling—in the present moment—the distant shores of a peaceful land, love does not allow us to sleep and dream too long. Love abruptly awakens us and gives us supernatural power to stand and fight today’s battles of pride, selfishness and lethargy.

Do not fear love. Often we substitute pleasure for love because love can be more painful to receive than to give. Love tells us who we are, and the natural man does not want to know who he is. For the infinite meaning of who we are to God is unbearable without His grace sustaining us. As that knowledge of love is unfolded to us, as we enter the holiness of love, we often long to cling to our wretched view of ourselves. And we retreat back into fear. For, Love stretches us to our full height as it embraces us.

Love is a daily, hourly, and by the minute letting go of fear. The fear that we will not get our way.  The fear of loss of control. For love freely gives control to God knowing that “though He slay me, yet will I serve Him.” It is the mystery of faith that as we pour ourself out as a sacrifice for others, that Christ’s grace will continually flow through us so we do not dry up.

Love is liberating. Our choice to give ourselves over to loving God and others opens up more and more freedoms. While choosing to refuse to love will eventually restrict us. Because--sin does not knock when it enters. Sin does not ask our permission, nor announce what he is doing. Sin takes advantage and creeps in, enslaving us to our indifference and hate. 

Love understands that sin is man’s greatest enemy and always picks up the sword to fight with and for the sinner—not against him. Sin cannot endure love and when sin is convinced love will win, it flees.

Love never blocks another's way to heaven.

The Christian journey is a series of learning to prostrate ourselves before Love. For love is demanding. It does not allow us to think ourselves better than others. It molds us into a perfection of patience and kindness. It teaches us to look upon the terrible struggles of sin in others and never judge the outcome, for love never gives up hope that God will win in every soul.

The more we love, the less we sin. It is the definition of how love works. For as we behold the very source of all life and love, we are changed into His image.

The Catholic Church has helped me see through the eyes of Christ, which are the eyes of love. I could never have seen unless He healed me of my great blindness. I never even knew I was blind, until He gave me sight.