Easy to Love?

Is Jesus Christ easy to love? For me personally, the answer is no. However, that does not mean I’m going to stop working at it.

One would think that Jesus is easy to love, given all that he has done for our sake. Jesus “is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother” [CCC 469], sacrificing himself for our salvation. Our Savior continues to come to us in the Holy Eucharist, giving us his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity for our consumption. So, what’s not to love?

Maybe the responsibility and commitment that come with loving our Lord make it difficult. Perhaps it is the cross we are called to embrace when we follow Jesus. Or maybe it’s fearing the greatness of his love.

Love Him or Leave Him

I am reminded of the story of St. Teresa of Avila when she fell in the mud and said to our Lord: “If this is how You treat your friends, no wonder why You have so few of them.” I love that feisty saint! Although Teresa had much to suffer in this world, she did not abandon Christ.

Also consider Simon Peter, who embraced Jesus--and pushed him away. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” [Luke 5:8] Peter also was afraid when he denied Jesus three times after Christ’s arrest. I find comfort in St. Peter; he became the Rock of the Church.

Regardless of what we feel in our hearts, we still face responsibilities, commitments, temptations, fears, and suffering in this world. However, like the saints, our loving Christ teaches us how to handle life’s challenges. That is to “persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel” [Colossians 1: 23].

Faith works through love—to love the Lord our God above all else and to love one another. Therefore, do we want to be consumed by the world or consumed by our Lord’s burning love for each of us by loving him in return? We could keep our love to ourselves. With faith declining, have many chosen to lock up their love? 

Unlock our Hearts

Opening our hearts to Jesus, we open our hearts to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him,” said Jesus [John 14:23]. We become partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.  

For this partaking, God gives us the gift of the Holy Eucharist in which Christ is present to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. With Holy Communion we are united with the Blessed Trinity. This union purifies us, separating us from sin and strengthening our charity.

The result: The more we accept Christ’s love and give our love in return, the more life and all that comes with it takes on a heavenly purpose. Our burdens become burdens of love that we offer up to our Lord for the sake of our salvation and salvation of the world. Too difficult? Let us pray to Mary our Blessed Mother of God and the saints to show us the way. While opening our hearts to Jesus Christ may not be easy, it’s certainly worth the effort. Amen.