THERE ARE NO OTHER VIRTUES THAT CAN EXIST WITHIN A PERSON WITHOUT LOVE (CHARITY). The virtue of love is absolutely basic to a Christian life. It is God’s love that is behind and supports all other love. That means that we must first allow God’s love to penetrate us and then love can have a great healing effect on us and others from the inside out.

How do we do this? It is only through prayer that we will experience God’s love in a manner that is a new and alive capacity to love and be loved.

Throughout biblical history human creation has experienced God’s love. First as a faithful lover to heal and guide His chosen people in a manner of loving intimacy. You see a person acts on behalf of the one who is loved and not themselves. Love can only show itself when the one loved feels loved. As God withdrew from the personal intervention and intimacy, He displayed His love through the kings and prophets of old. He never has left us alone or abandoned us no matter what we have done. This is the ONLY true love. But God in His perfection had to express His love perfectly to His creation. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the expression of that love in what Jesus did to save us and what Jesus and the Holy Spirit continue to do on earth to this very day.

So love is to will the good of the other. But, the key to loving is the experience of being loved. The only life worth living is a life dedicated in some way to loving others. Now there are times when love is easy as when parents and children are bringing deep joy to each other. But what about those times when raising children is a source of deep anguish. Love then becomes more difficult but is just as real in both instances. The virtue of love is the glue that holds any life together.

What we may sometimes fail to see or understand is that our desperate seeking to be loved is
the surest way not to be loved. This says that for us to be loved we must forget ourselves and love others unconditionally. And, then we must allow ourselves to be loved. “Selfless love consents to be loved selflessly for the sake of the beloved.” So we have gone full cycle. To love is to receive love, but we can only receive love by loving.

We can see love in many ways in our daily lives. To see two lovers looking lovingly at each other is a form of love. But to see a person caring for a terminally ill patient with patience and caring is seeing somewhat of a deeper love in action. We will see great love in those who are willing to sacrifice their very freedom for the sake of another or for the sake of our God. We will see love in the eyes of a laborer who spends their whole working life trying to build a safe product for the good of the people who will be using it.

Without giving and receiving love, our life is bound to be empty and without purpose. With love, NO MATTER WHAT ELSE HAPPENS, life is worthwhile. God first loved us so that we could see what love is and love Him and others in return. He showed us how difficult love can be in the example of His Son and the Saints who have given their lives in some way for His honor and glory. We are all not asked to give our lives physically. But we are asked to give up our lives and ourselves totally for the sake of God and neighbor. We can only do this when we recognize and accept the charity that is “… poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:5) Saint Paul clearly understood the virtue of love.

One small assignment in closing, read slowly, re-read slower and then meditate and pray on St. Paul’s discourse on love in 1 Corinthians 13. We have read it many times but I wondered if I have ever taken it to heart enough to live it totally.

May we always see the great blessings of God’s love in us and in others.