.
Most Rev. Philip Boyce, OCD
Bishop of Raphoe
Pope Benedict XVI in his first Encyclical Letter to all
the faithful chose this theme of God’s love for us and of our obligation
to share that love with others. Being a Christian and a believer is not
the result of our own decisions and ideas, but follows from our faith in
God’s love for us. It stems from “the encounter with an event, a
person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus
Caritas Est- God is Love- No 1). Love then is at the core of our
Christian faith. The Pope in his first solemn message chose to speak on
this topic, namely, the love which God has for each of us, which we are
asked to have for him and which we in turn are obliged to give to others.
The Scriptures are full of phrases that teach the
reality of God’s love for us. The prophets used vivid images to make
people realise the greatness of divine love: “Can a woman forget the
child at her breast, have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even if
these were to forget, I shall not forget you. Look, I have engraved you on
the palms of my hands” (Is. 49: 15-16). “
God’s love for us reaches its climax when he sent his
most treasured possession, his only Son to take on our nature, become one
of us, live on this earth as we do and then give his life for us on the
cross of Calvary: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
(Jn. 3: 16).
In return, we are obliged to love God with sincerity
and loyalty. Of all the commandments given by God
that reveal to us what he wants us to do, the greatest is this:
“Hear, O, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all
your might” (Deut. 6: 5). Jesus quoted these words when asked what the
first of all the commandments was. And he added: “The second is this:
you must love your neighbour as yourself, there is no commandment greater
than these” (Mk.
Selfish and
unselfish love
In the first part of his Encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI
examines the relation between selfish erotic love and the love that is
noble, that is willing to sacrifice itself for the one who is loved, that
raises us to the sphere of the Divine. The human love that draws a man and
woman together is a special affection and attraction that was placed in
our nature by the Creator himself. It should not be despised or rejected.
Like every desire or passion however, it has to be controlled and
ennobled. Nowadays, unfortunately, love is often exploited. It is used
simply for sexual pleasure. The powerful desire to serve others and to
sacrifice oneself for the sake of new life is often separated from the
selfish longing to indulge in personal and passing pleasure. As the Holy
Father says this erotic love,
“Reduced to pure “sex”, has become a
commodity, a mere “thing” to be bought and sold, or rather, man
himself becomes a commodity. This is hardly man’s great “yes” to the
body. On the contrary, he now considers his body and his sexuality as the
purely material part of himself, to be used and exploited at will. Nor
does he see it as an arena for the exercise of his freedom, but as a mere
object that he attempts, as he pleases, to make both enjoyable and
harmless. Here we are actually dealing with a debasement of the human
body. (No. 5)
Love of all kinds, if it is true, tends to bring us out
of and beyond ourselves. It is not self-centred: “instead it seeks the
good of the beloved: it becomes renunciation and it is ready, and even
willing, for sacrifice” (No. 6)
Sexual love is meant by the Creator to draw a man and
woman to each other, so that they abandon mother and father, and together
they become one flesh and form a new human family. Marriage is blessed by
Christ with the grace of a Sacrament. It is formed by a love that is
exclusive and definitive, and is an image of the faithful love that binds
God and his people.
The Catechism expresses it as follows: “God who
created man out of love also calls him to love- the fundamental and innate
vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and
likeness of God who is himself love. Since God created him man and woman,
their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with
which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes, and
this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized
in the common work of watching over creation: ‘And God blessed them, and
God said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
subdue it.” (CIC 1604)
This love that attracts man and woman to each other
becomes mature when those who love do not seek passing pleasure alone.
Each learns to seek the good and the happiness of the other. They wish to
give as much as to receive. This leads to a purified love that brings deep
joy and happiness.
Can
we love God? Can love be obligatory?
However, can we love God whom we never saw and who is
far beyond all we can imagine? And again, is love not a spontaneous thing
and, if so, how can one be obliged to love someone?
The Holy Father teaches that God can be loved because
he did not remain in his unapproachable heaven and isolation at an
unreachable distance. He became one of us. He entered into our lives, He
sent his Son. His life became visible for us. One of his followers, John,
the Apostle, writes a Letter to share his joy with us. He speaks of
“Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched
with our own hands- the Word of life” (I Jn. 7: 1)
The proof that we love him is that we obey his holy
will, expressed in the commandments. Love for God is not a matter of mere
words. It is not simply a feeling. God loved us first, so we can respond
with love.
“God does not demand of us a feeling which we
ourselves are incapable of producing. He loves us, he makes us see and
experience his love, and since he has “loved us first”, love can also
blossom as a response within us. In the gradual unfolding of this
encounter, it is clearly revealed that love is not merely a sentiment.
Sentiments come and go. A sentiment can be a marvellous first spark, but
it is not the fullness of love” (No. 17).
Love is an act of our free will, and it is manifested
in the conduct of our lives.
Therefore, since God has done so much for us, since he
has appeared in our midst and suffered for us in his Son, Jesus Christ, we
can and should love him. But that love is proved not by mere words but in
the sincerity of good deeds and in the love we have for our neighbour.
An objection can be: if a neighbour is disagreeable, if
he offends and hurts me, can I love him? This becomes possible, without
distinction of age, race, colour or creed, because Christ has given us a
share in his love. On the night he was betrayed he said: “This is my
commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn. 15:12)
Therefore God’s will becomes increasingly what I wish. This makes possible my love for every human person, even for those I do not like or know. I see each person and love each one with the love of the heart of Christ. As the Holy Father writes,
“Then I learn to look on this
person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective
of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend. Going beyond exterior
appearances, I perceive in others an interior desire for a sign of love,
of concern. This I can offer them not only through the organizations
intended for such purposes, accepting it perhaps as a political necessity.
Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their
outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave”.
(No. 18)
Helping
our neighbour, loving each person
The Church cannot but be involved in works of charity
and relief for those who suffer in body and soul, and who are in need of
love. An outstanding example of this love in our days was Blessed (Mother)
Teresa of Calcutta. She understood that leprosy, tuberculosis or aids was
not the most fearful disease of our times, but rather the feeling of being
unwanted, uncared for and abandoned by everybody. The Church cannot leave
the service of assistance to the poor and underprivileged simply to state
organisations. These do very good work trying to provide help and justice
for all peoples, but the Church must go beyond that, bringing the love of
Christ, that is inspired by faith, to everyone in need. Professional care
and competency are certainly required, but Church organisations seek to
give more. Pope Benedict writes,
“We are dealing with human beings, and human
beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need
humanity. They need heartfelt concern. Those who work for the Church’s
charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact that they do
not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to
others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of
their humanity.” (No. 31 a)
In loving with this Christian love we imitate the love
with which God loved us. For, as Bishop Fulton Sheen remarks: “God does
not love us because we are valuable; we are valuable because He loves
us”. By loving, you bring out the best in another person. “Many are
still bad because as yet no one has loved them enough.” (Pius XII)
Lent,
a time of love and mercy
Therefore, I thank you for your continuous generosity
towards the poor and underprivileged. It was manifested when we had
special collections for natural disasters (the tsumani; the hurricanes);
for the missions or for Christians in the Holy Land; when missionaries
come from time to time and make an appeal; during Lent each year when you
give to the work of Trócaire; and when the St. Vincent de Paul
Association ask your help in assisting the poor and the homeless.
On those occasions and also in our efforts to love one
another, let us look upon those whom we assist with the love of the eyes
of
Finally, let us remember that it is easy to love all
men and women in general, but more challenging to love those we meet or
live with day by day. Yet these are the most concrete neighbours we have
and we are asked to be good Samaritans for them.May the days of Lent be
for all of us a time of love and mercy.
X Philip Boyce, OCD,
Bishop
of Raphoe
Love is patient and kind;
Love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong,
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love will never end.
1 Cor. 13:4-7,8a
