Some young people sometimes ask me, ‘‘Did you experience how to love?’’.
My honest answer to them was ‘yes’.
St Therese of Lisieux once said, ‘‘Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing’’.
Imagine your faith, yourself, your family, your church, your friendship without love.
That’s misery. Faith without love is nothing.
Fr Paul Foulon, CICM said in his book From Spring to Life:
‘‘Jesus explains to us the relationship he wants to see between him and us.
‘‘His model is the love of the Father who gave his only Son. It enabled Jesus to give himself without counting the cost of this total gift.
‘‘There were moments when his human nature resisted the demands of his mission, but he did not veer away from his commitment, no matter how severely he was tempted.
‘‘Somehow the love God expects from us knows no limit either. It will be measured in particular by the love we show to the person who deserves it the least.
‘‘Have we become a light in the world? For a Christian the darkness is gone when he has learned to recognise Jesus in the face of all people.’’
We are all called to love as Jesus loves us and remain his love. That is our mission.
Paul Tillich once said, ‘‘The first duty of love is to listen’’.
~ Contributed by Fr Line Abilgos of St Michael’s Catholic Church, on behalf of the Combined Churches of Deniliquin.
