Faith-filled Long and Lasting Love
April 23, 2024
Hi! How is each and every one? In preparing for this post I was searching for a fitting cover photo and title when the words of a song by the same title came to mind and I know there is such a song. I searched for it to see if the lyrics are to my liking, clean, pure and edifying. I listened to the song a lot of times and I liked it, I am sharing the same with you. I forwarded it to my siblings viber group and in a few seconds the response from my comedian bro popped up that says, “Pinks, sobra naman romantic yan kanta. Long na nga eh lasting pa? Suerte naman! At least hindi taken na nga for granted naman. Miriam Defensor Santiago in her book “Stupid is forever”, one of her one-liner jokes or pick-up lines was “Taken na nga for granted naman.” Knowing you I am sure you would be happy to have the words of the song written down.
Following is the continuation of the previous post on the same symphony of love of St. Paul as commented on by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Chapter 4, nos.89-119.
Love bears all things
111. Paul’s list ends with four phrases
containing the words “all things”. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Here we see clearly the countercultural
power of a love that is able to face whatever might threaten it.
112. First, Paul says that love “bears
all things” (panta stégei). This is
about more than simply putting up with evil; it has to do with the use of the
tongue. The verb can mean “holding one’s peace” about what may be wrong with
another person. It implies limiting judgment, checking the impulse to issue a
firm and ruthless condemnation: “Judge not and you will not be judged” (Lk
6:37). Although it runs contrary to the way we normally use our tongues, God’s
word tells us: “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters”
(Jas 4:11). Being willing to speak ill of another person is a way of asserting
ourselves, venting resentment and envy without concern for the harm we may do.
We often forget that slander can be quite sinful; it is a grave offense against
God when it seriously harms another person’s good name and causes damage that
is hard to repair. Hence God’s word forthrightly states that the tongue “is a
world of iniquity” that “stains the whole body” (Jas 3:6); it is a “restless
evil, full of deadly poison” (3:8). Whereas the tongue can be used to “curse those
who are made in the likeness of God” (3:9), love cherishes the good name of
others, even one’s enemies. In seeking to uphold God’s law we must never forget
this specific requirement of love.
113. Married couples joined by love speak well of each other; they try to show their spouse’s good side, not their weakness and faults. In any event, they keep silent rather than speak ill of them. This is not merely a way of acting in front of others; it springs from an interior attitude. Far from ingenuously claiming not to see the problems and weaknesses of others, it sees those weaknesses and faults in a wider context. It recognizes that these failings are a part of a bigger picture. We have to realize that all of us are a complex mixture of light and shadows. The other person is much more than the sum of the little things that annoy me. Love does not have to be perfect for us to value it. The other person loves me as best they can, with all their limits, but the fact that love is imperfect does not mean that it is untrue or unreal. It is real, albeit limited and earthly. If I expect too much, the other person will let me know, for he or she can neither play God nor serve all my needs. Love coexists with imperfection. It “bears all things” and can hold its peace before the limitations of the loved one.
Allow me,
please, to share with you the following item that was recently forwarded in a
viber group among my friends.
THE SHOEBOX
A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.
In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totalling $95,000.
He asked her about the contents.
'When
we were to be married,' she said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a
happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with
you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two Precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two Times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with Happiness.
'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?'
'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'
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114. Panta
pisteúei. Love believes all things. Here “belief ” is not to be taken in
its strict theological meaning, but more in the sense of what we mean by
“trust”. This goes beyond simply presuming that the other is not lying or
cheating. Such basic trust recognizes God’s light shining beyond the darkness,
like an ember glowing beneath the ash.
115. This trust enables a relationship
to be free. It means we do not have to control the other person, to follow
their every step lest they escape our grip. Love trusts, it sets free, it does
not try to control, possess and dominate everything. This freedom, which
fosters independence, an openness to the world around us and to new
experiences, can only enrich and expand relationships. The spouses then share
with one another the joy of all they have received and learned outside the
family circle. At the same time, this freedom makes for sincerity and
transparency, for those who know that they are trusted and appreciated can be
open and hide nothing. Those who know that their spouse is always suspicious,
judgmental and lacking unconditional love, will tend to keep secrets, conceal
their failings and weaknesses, and pretend to be someone other than who they
are. On the other hand, a family marked by loving trust, come what may, helps
its members to be themselves and spontaneously to reject deceit, falsehood, and
lies.
The
above book, Very Human Very Divine
XVII on The Gentle Force of Trust, starts with the following words and ends
with the next paragraph. “Sincere trust unlocks the potentialities hidden
inside each person; it encourages us to develop our qualities in the service of
others, and enables us to grow in a natural and harmonious way.
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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