Pastor's Letter 20220515 - 15 May 2022 - Love, Strengthened by Faith

[Father Michael]

May 15^th, 2022

Fifth Sunday of Easter

“Love One Another as I Have Loved You”

A Message from Father †Michael

Today’s Theme:  “Love, Strengthened by Faith” 

Reflections on Today’s Scripture

Our First Reading is the conclusion of what is commonly called “the first missionary journey” (Acts 14:21-27.)  †Paul and †Barnabas are seen retracing their steps and encouraging the little communities they had founded.  The left them under no illusion: they had to prepare for persecution.  Of special interest is how they appointed “elders” in each Church: the presumption is of a generally accepted institution, thoughtfully occurring after prayer and fasting.  It is seen as the beginning of the “hierarchical Church,” the precursor to what we have today.  Meant to provide the means for administration, these tiers of management have never diminished direct reliance upon Jesus Christ as the ultimate advocate to the Father.

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Today’s Second Reading (Revelation 21:1-5,) cites the vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and the setting of a new Jerusalem.  The Holy City is of heavenly origin, as a tangible sign of the covenant the people of Israel and God.  The defeat of satanic forces fulfills the promise of the most intimate sharing of life between God and His people—a constant theme in Jewish Scripture of the time.  At the summit of creation, humankind is God’s pride and joy—with their destined home in the garden of delights of the New City.   

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Our Gospel selection’s general context (John 13:31-35,) is the Holy Eucharist—though not explicitly mentioned by †John—but implied throughout.  Jesus urged His disciples to live by a New Commandment: to love one another.  It has been perpetuated in the Eucharist, wherein He comes to them, in perpetuity.  In this way, they kept His Spirit alive among themselves, and as long as they did so, in Christian love, the world will continue to encounter Jesus.  God’s glorious presence so lights up our lives that it invites people to love,  making us instruments of God’s providence in the lives of others.  Our love for each other has become the channel through which we experience the love of God.  

The Role of Love in our Life

Selfishness keeps us shut in, and confined by our erecting barriers, even walls, between ourselves and others.  What frees us from this captivity is every deep, serious affection we feel and express for others.  Being friends, being brothers and sisters, our love opens our “prison of unselfishness.”

Survivors of the Holocaust have testified that those who focused on survival only, and shunned all other purposes in their lives, were the ones least likely to withstand the rigors of the concentration camps.  Meanwhile, prisoners who lived for a parent, a brother, a friend, or even an ideal, had a better chance of getting out alive.  It was through what they gave that they survived.  

Love always demands, and brings out, the best in us.  Being loved gives a person surprising courage and energy.  It is said that if you love, energy will be given to you.  Where there is great love there are always miracles.  Love is our connection to God and to one another; the flame that warms our hearts and energizes our spirits; and supplying passion to our lives.  

Those who love experience a more abundant and fruitful life.  Those who opt for love open themselves to the possibilities of greater happiness than they have ever known.  Love is well-being…but if we to refuse love we begin to die.  While faith makes all things possible, love makes things easy.  Love heals everyone—both the receiver and the giver.  

Varieties of Love

Today, we understand, more than we ever have, the complexity of human nature, and the mixed motives that underlie everything we do.  A plethora of tomes* have been devoted to the subject of “love,” but there are five, commonly recognized kinds of love:

• Utilitarian love: Described as loving one another because we find usefulness in loving,  but it’s really more like selfishness than real love—”I want something from you, but I don’t want you.”

•  Romantic love:  We express this kind of affection because of the pleasure another person gives us (i.e., emotional, physical.)  Often, it takes the form of infatuation with someone, but that’s not really love.  We may think it is, at the time, but, in truth, we are really only loving ourselves.  As a basis for lasting relationships, usually this doesn’t last, as is attested to by the great many failed marriages based on this “flavor” of love. 

•  Democratic love:  Based upon equality under the law, we respect others because they are fellow citizens, recognizing their liberties in order that ours, in turn, may be acknowledged.  However, such contributions to the good of others have within them expectations for returned good for ourselves.  

•  Humanitarian love:  This is love for humanity, in general.  The weakness of this type is that it is love in the abstract, rather than the concrete—at its extreme is the sentiment:  “I love humanity (as a whole,) but can’t stand people (as individuals!”)  

•  Christian love:  This is unconditional love, as summarized by Jesus’ commandment:  “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Here, we are talking about loving even when there is nothing “in it for us.”  This love persists, despite hostility, persecution or any hope for its being returned.  As the basis for an enduring relationship, not spasmodic enthusiasm, it expresses itself in affection, service and self-sacrifice.  This kind of love can only be achieved with guidance from the Holy Spirit.  

It has been said that if you do a good deed, but have an ulterior motive, it would be better not to do it at all.  One noteworthy exception is charity:  Even though it is not as good as loving with a pure motive, acts of charity are still good deeds, benefitting other people, irrespective of their motives.  Besides,  selfishness and generosity coexist in us, which makes the good that we do all the more praiseworthy, as It arises from internal struggle and personal expense.  

People tend to see the problem of loving as being loved rather than being a loving person.  All their efforts go into making themselves loveable…through being famous, successful, glamorous, powerful, or rich, etc.  In the end, they are left without love, for they are loved, not for themselves, but for something they possess, or that they have achieved.  Whereas, if they became loving people, they would more likely be loved in return…for themselves.  All of us want to be loved for ourselves.  (Those who are not loved often simply seek to be admired.)

Here are three states in which people often find themselves with respect to love:

1) Those who do not love and are not loved in return.  This bereft state seems like “hell on earth;” 

2) Someone may love, but not be loved in return…“unrequited love:” the subject of so many “romance novels.  Although painful, it is better than the first condition; 

3) The luckiest people on earth are those who love and who are loved in return.  This is the blessed state about which Jesus spoke:  “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.”

Love always brings out the best in the one who loves.  People are at their best and brightest when they love, like a glowing lamp.  Love is a choice, not just a feeling.  If we refuse to love we begin to die.  The worst human condition of all is “cold indifference,” a sure path to loneliness and despair.

May God Richly Bless You!

"Guidelines for a Happy Family"

• Help each other; • Be thankful; • Know you are loved; • Pay with hugs and kisses; • Try new things; • Be happy; • Show Compassion; • Be grateful; • Dream big; • Respect one another; • Laugh out loud.

~~Fred Rogers~~

Desert Psalm.docx

There is no recording of the Holy Mass today. 

 

*Note:  Modern psychology has treated of many facets of love, that go beyond those I mention here.  Several aspects of each I’ve subsumed into “my five.”  For instance, ancient Greeks recognized eight kinds of love (Eros—romantic love; Philia—affectionate love; Storge—familiar love; Pragma—enduring love; Ludus—playful love; Mania—Obsessive love; Philautia—self-love; and Agape—unconditional love.)   

Edited May 15, 2022 by Father Michael