True Love

St. Paul tells us that we can strive for the greatest spiritual gifts, but without love we have nothing. Why do we need love? “Love is patient, love is kind…It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails,” said St Paul [1 Corinthians 13:4-8].

Therefore, as we strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love, let us understand that the greatest of these three is love. Truth of the matter is God is love. Just as life begins with God, love begins with God. God created love.

How Great is God’s Love?

So great is God’s love—He loved each of us before we were ever born, giving us the foundation to love one another even in our most difficult circumstances. “If we love one another God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us,” according to the first letter of John. “God is love and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him…as he is so are we in the world.” [1 John 4:12, 16, 17]

God knows how difficult it is for us to love. That is why Christ came into the world. In Christ we see the face of God’s merciful love. He took on sin, persecution, betrayal, hatred, fear, pain, and suffering, and through it all He never lost His love for humanity. That is how great God’s love is for each of us.

And as we contemplate God’s love, let us also contemplate Mary, our Blessed Mother. Because of Mary, the face of God’s love was able to enter our world. Truly Mary’s heart, mind, and soul were open to accept God’s love by way of the Holy Spirit. We are called to do the same so that this divine love can live within us and through us every day of our lives.

To Have and to Share

For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part, we are born to share God’s love in all that we do through our compassion, generosity, mercy, and companionship. Why then do so many of us reject the true love God wants us to have and share? Is it a refusal to acknowledge that all good first comes from God and not from us? Or is it a refusal to accept the responsibility that comes with this love?

Although baptism washes away our original sin, we are still prone to temptations that pull us away from God. However, by the power of Mary’s loving intercession with her Son, we can overcome these temptations and live in the security of God’s embrace. Love “is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoices with the truth.” [1 Corinthians 13:4-6]  

The truth is, thankfully, God first loved us. With God, true love never fades or dies. May the love of God remain in each of us all the days of our lives.