Demonstrations of Love
March 26, 2024
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday of the
Passion of the Lord, a day on which the Church enters upon the mystery of the
Death, Burial and Resurrection of her Lord, and brings together the triumphal
procession of Christ as king and the proclamation of his passion. The faithful
take part in the procession singing and waving branches of the palm tree or
other trees in their hands. The branches
are blessed so that they may be carried in procession, and be devoutly kept at
home to call to mind the victory of Christ as celebrated by today’s procession.
For the spiritual good of the faithful
it is appropriate that the narrative of the Passion be read in its entirety,
without however omitting the other readings which precede it.
The Sacred Paschal Triduum
Christ accomplished his work of human redemption
and of the perfect glorification of God principally through his Paschal Mystery,
in which by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising restored our life,
the sacred Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord shines
forth as the high point of the entire liturgical year. Therefore the pre-eminence that Sunday has in
the week, the Solemnity of Easter has in the liturgical year. The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and
Resurrection of the Lord begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, has
its center in the Easter Vigil and closes with Vespers (Evening prayer) of the
Sunday of the Resurrection. (Universal Norms, 18-19).
To take full advantage of the Holy Week,
it would be good to reflect and focus on the Mystery of the Passion, Death and
Resurrection of Jesus for our redemption, to receive the sacrament of
confession, to receive Holy communion, To fast and abstain from meat on good Friday,
to proclaim the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
Let us now continue with St. Paul’s
symphony on love from Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Chapter 4, nos 89-119.
Love is at the service of others
93. The next word that Paul uses is chrestéuetai. The word is used only here
in the entire Bible. It is derived from chrestós:
a good person, one who shows his goodness by his deeds. Here, in strict
parallelism with the preceding verb, it serves as a complement. Paul wants to
make it clear that “patience” is not a completely passive attitude, but one
accompanied by activity, by a dynamic and creative interaction with others. The
word indicates that love benefits and helps others. For this reason it is
translated as “kind”; love is ever ready to be of assistance.
94. Throughout the text, it is clear
that Paul wants to stress that love is more than a mere feeling. Rather, it
should be understood along the lines of the Hebrew verb “to love”; it is “to do
good”. As Saint Ignatius of Loyola said, “Love is shown more by deeds than by
words” [Spiritual Exercises,
Contemplation to Attain Love (230)].
It thus shows its fruitfulness and allows us to experience the happiness
of giving, the nobility and grandeur of spending ourselves unstintingly,
without asking to be repaid, purely for the pleasure of giving and serving.
Love
is not jealous
95. Saint Paul goes on to reject as
contrary to love an attitude expressed by the verb zelói – to be jealous or
envious. This means that love has no room for discomfiture at another person’s
good fortune (cf. Acts 7:9; 17:5). Envy is a form of sadness provoked by
another’s prosperity; it shows that we are not concerned for the happiness of
others but only with our own well-being. Whereas love makes us rise above
ourselves, envy closes us in on ourselves. True love values the other person’s
achievements. It does not see him or her as a threat. It frees us from the sour
taste of envy. It recognizes that everyone has different gifts and a unique
path in life. So it strives to discover its own road to happiness, while
allowing others to find theirs.
96. In a word, love means fulfilling the
last two commandments of God’s Law: “You shall not covet your neighbour’s
house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his manservant, or his
maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s”
(Ex 20:17). Love inspires a sincere esteem for every human being and the
recognition of his or her own right to happiness. I love this person, and I see
him or her with the eyes of God, who gives us everything “for our enjoyment” (1
Tim 6:17). As a result, I feel a deep sense of happiness and peace. This same
deeply rooted love also leads me to reject the injustice whereby some possess
too much and others too little. It moves me to find ways of helping society’s
outcasts to find a modicum of joy. That is not envy, but the desire for
equality.
Let us go to Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love and ask her to teach us how to love. By her Fiat, mihi secundum verbum tuum, Be it done to me according to thy word, God filled her with His grace to love freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully; selflessly and unconditionally. This is how God spreads His love to each one of us. He cannot be outdone in generosity. With a little response on our part He gives a hundredfold. It is worthwhile to lose our life because he will save our life.
See you in
the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may
you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care;
‘til He brings us together again.”
Affectionately,
Guadalupinky
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