PEACE IS THE PROFIT OF TRUE LOVE
Love is the theme in the commandments. It comes from the Greek word ‘agape’, which means ‘a love that benefits the other person’. If we put other people first before ourselves, then we live in the likeness of Jesus. The scribe said that we must love God with all our ‘strength’ and ‘understanding’. This means that when we understand everything that God has done for us, then we should put Him on the top of our list to love. In the Person of Jesus, God suffered a horrific passion and death. He rose from the dead to open the gates of heaven for us. Daily prayer brings understanding. Jesus commands that we exercise love and mercy as a way of life. To be disciplined is not always a pleasant experience, because at the time it seems painful, but in the end it will yield a peaceful eternal harvest for us in heaven (Heb 12:11). Our hearts should magnify the Lord in our dealings with each other. Jesus shows that loving God means being drawn into God’s love for all humanity. If we love God with ‘all our heart, soul, mind and strength’, then we are called to express that love through how we treat others.
DISORDER LOVE EXISTS
To ‘understand’ how God forgives us in confession should result in us forgiving each other. To live by the spirit of love is to purify our souls. To adore our families but not adore Jesus is a disordered love. Jesus died to justify our existence. We must not ignore His existence in our world. We express our love for Him by keeping His commandments. This includes keeping the Sabbath day holy, accepting the invitation to come to His house, and eat at His table every Sunday at Mass. To say we loveJesus but refuse to change our lives in order to obey His divine will, is to lie to ourselves. True love should profit the soul with divine peace and grace, resulting in a desire to please God. Many Catholics dismiss the law of heaven while living here on earth, not realising that if they want to live in heaven someday, then they must begin to live by laws of heaven here on earth. Sport has rules and referees to put order in a match. It enhances the sport and benefits the player’s performances to reach their victory. God gives us divine rules to benefit our lives now, in order for us to claim the Trophy of eternal life someday.
WHAT IS LOVE?
Love is the one thing that cannot hurt our neighbour. In loving our neighbour as ourself suggests recognising the good in ourselves. Jesus is saying that even in the middle of our relationships with family and friends, our primary focus and love is to be in God. He created us, and He will raise us from the dead, and is deserving of all our love. It is in loving Jesus that our human love with each other becomes totally complete. Because our human will is weak and wounded by sin, the search for peace demands constant control of our passions. Jesus restores lost Peace to those who repent for their sins in the sacrament of confession. Before God takes us from this world, we have to reconcile with Jesus and with each other. We have to love our enemy. It is painful but necessary. If not, our souls will be purified in the painful fires of Purgatory or worst still, lost in the fires of hell. As Christians, we are summoned to live the truth in love and to work for peace. The Ten Commandments provide a moral framework, outlining how we should relate to God and to others. God bless, Fr. Brendan.