True Love Goes All The Way

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

INDEED, that is how true love is. It never says enough in its self-giving. If it would cost one’s life, so be it. It would always take the initiative, never waiting for some favorable conditions to start loving. It may involve some episodes of anger, but it would always end with mercy.

We can learn these qualities of true love from the first reading of the Mass of Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday. (cfr. 1 Jn 4,7-10) “Let us love one another, for charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God,” it says.

And it describes the extent to which this love goes in this way: “In this is charity: not as though we had loved God, but because he has first loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.”

It obviously would look like impossible for us to have that kind of love which we are meant to have since we are supposed to God’s image and likeness, sharers of his life and nature. We should not waste time worrying about that apparent impossibility. We are told that as long as we do our part, imperfect as it is, it would be God himself who would do it for us and with us!

If we truly love God and everybody else, with a love that is nothing less than a participation of the love God has for us and as commanded by Christ to us, then we will never say enough in our self-giving.

Even if such attitude would already seem to be going beyond common sense, our reason and other human and worldly standards that we usually use to measure our love, we would still go on giving ourselves, never saying enough. We would just give and give, even if we seem to consume ourselves in death.

This is, of course, an overwhelming prospect, but that is what true love is. It is some kind of madness that knows no limits. It is given without measure, without cost, without any calculation.

And even if such total self-giving is not reciprocated, it would still go on loving. It is purely gratuitous. Even more, even if it is not only unreciprocated but is also violently resisted and rejected, it would still go on loving.

Obviously, if we are to rely only on our own powers, there is no way we can have this kind of self-giving. This can only take place if we are truly identified with Christ, if we have his grace and are corresponding to it with all that we have got.

It’s only in this condition that that we can go beyond the limits of our natural self and above the usual drama in life. We of course have our limitations, physical, mental, emotional, etc. And yet, as long as we are truly with Christ, we can still manage to give ourselves unstintingly. The spiritual and supernatural in us through Christ would enable us to give ourselves despite our natural limitations and worldly conditions.

It is God’s grace that does the trick. It’s when we correspond sincerely to God’s love for us that we get a self-perpetuating energy to do our best in any given moment. It’s when we can manage to do the impossible.

We need to help each other to do and give our best in whatever task we have out of sheer love for God and neighbor. The appropriate training should be established in homes, schools and everywhere. The proper climate and environment should be created for this purpose.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com