Let’s always be in love

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS is the ideal condition of our life. Without love, we would be contradicting first of all our humanity, before we nullify our ultimate dignity and identity as God’s children, created in his image and likeness, and meant to share the very life of God whose very nature is love itself. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,8)

It’s love that would keep us going and growing toward the fullness and perfection of our humanity. We are actually made for it. That’s the reason why we have been endowed with intelligence and will so we can relate ourselves with God and with others all the way to a total and intimate self-giving.

We just have to see to it that our love comes and is constantly nurtured by the love of God who loves us first before we can learn to love him in return. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,19) In other words, our love should be divine and not just human. While it makes full use of our human powers, it should move and work at the instance of the supernatural power of God who shares it with us through his grace that is made available abundantly.

We can somehow distinguish between mere human love and the ideal divine love because the former often only focuses on personal attachment, emotions and desires. It is driven more by self-interest, possessiveness than by true concern for the others. It highly fleeting, prone to change due to some circumstances and the fickleness of our emotions.

Divine love is marked by unconditional self-giving and is focused on the inherent worth and dignity of the beloved. It continues to give itself to others even if it is not reciprocated. It is willing to offer forgiveness to those who may wrong us. It gives us inner peace and joy, even in challenging situations.

St. Paul has this beautiful description of divine love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Cor 13,4-8)

We should frequently examine ourselves if we are truly developing and living this kind of love. We may ask ourselves: Is my love motivated by a desire to give or to receive? Is it unconditional or conditional? Is it focused on other’s well-being or on our personal gain? Is it rooted in faith and an active spiritual life of prayer, sacrifice, recourse to the sacraments, etc. or simply in our human and natural powers?

Let’s always remember that love has a universal coverage. It’s not only for those who are right in something. It’s also for those who are wrong. It’s not only for the winners. It’s also for the losers. Not only for friends, but also for enemies!

But the universal inclusivity of charity does not do away with the exclusivity of truth. It does not do away with the distinction between good and evil, between right and wrong, between truth and falsehood. In fact, it sharpens that distinction. And yet, it still works in all those distinctions.

Yes, charity is all-inclusive, though it is expressed, of course, in different ways. As they say, we have to have different strokes for different folks. And that’s simply because at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, we are all creatures and children of God, brothers and sisters to each other. We have been created by our Creator out of love and for love.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com