The best definition for love according to St. John is that God is love.If so, as people created in the likeness of God, we are also people of love. We are created to love and receive love also. Perfect love is of God while pain inflicting love is not of God. The devil is renowned for creating the reverse copy of all that is good made by God.Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.John 15:13 - King James Bible "Authorized Version", Cambridge Edition This love which God has for mankind is most dramatically exemplified in the mystery of the Incarnation. After the human race had responded to divine gifts with ingratitude, pride and disobedience, it was plunged by its own sin into desolation and misery. True love is characterized by the following:True love is sacrificial. It gives up everything for the sake of others. Jesus gave us the perfect example.Out of His great love, God chose to become man. He goes on to suffer the most horrible agonies, culminating in death on a cross, and then rises from the dead after three days in the tomb. All these He does just for our sakes, even though there was nothing personally for Him to profit from it. Here then, we see God loving in a manner that is still selfless, but also excruciatingly sacrificial and painful. True love defends the rights of the afflicted and poor. If we truly love others, we should be concerned about their welfare and circumstances. How many times have we turned the other way when others are troubled just because we have troubles of our own? This is not a sign of true love. We should stand up for the rights of the afflicted and poor even if we do not know them, or have our own concerns. We might just be the only ones around to ensure that their rights are not infringed upon. Examples of this second love are the way all parents are supposed to love their children, the way Mother Teresa loved the poor, or the way we are all supposed to love our enemies. It does not refer to concern for our own enjoyment, but rather a willingness to work for someone else's well-being. True love leaves wounds for remembrance. If we have gone the extra mile to love someone else, the price of love leaves us with the discomfort and pains of the act. However, these are joyful love pains. We remember such good acts with a feeling of satisfaction in our deprivation.Of course, such a selfless attitude always involves sacrifice. If you've ever made someone else's happiness a priority, then you know it's not easy. In fact, the proof of charity is measured by sacrifice. If we have a selfless love for God and neighbour, we will be willing to suffer in order to serve them. This is the ultimate test of love.After the resurrection of Christ, he appeared to his disciples several times and they were always asked to look at his wound as evidence. Do we have any love wounds to show as signs of being Christ’s followers? We received healing by His wounds and stripes which brought us freedom from sin and joy. True love must always bring joy.The story was told of early on Easter morning in heaven. The devil disguised as Jesus and arrived at the gate with his band of angels and trumpet blasting. Unknown to God’s angels, they thought it was Jesus and also rushed to welcome him at the gate.Satan raise up his hand in jubilation as the angels sang praises of Jesus chanting “I am raised”.All of a sudden, he discovered that the gates have been shut again. “Why have you refused to open the gates so that the king of glory may enter?” In response, God’s angels told him “If you are truly Christ, how come you have no wounds on your body?”This is the Easter love story.
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
How to Achieve Business Excellence »
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29
Spiritual Development for our Youth »
Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
Copyright © 2002-2024 THE BEACON INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC MAGAZINE. All rights reserved.
another mc.rufus interactive web design