Reading:
John 15: 9-17
from Pope St. John Paul II:
Redemptor Hominis, 10
Reflection:
I've heard it said before (somewhere) that the two most fundamental human desires are the desire to love and the desire to be loved. Love is so necessary to being human. Love is what separates us from the animals. We can choose to love. We can choose the greater good of the other, the beloved.
I was helping out my housemate at his youth group not too long ago, and we were discussing hell through what the Catechism teaches about it. However, the conversation got sidetracked to the meaning of love and its necessity. We are made for love. Pope St. John Paul II said
Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.How can I choose to love if I don't know what it is?
And that's why it's important for me to draw close to our Lord because He is love. Loving our Lord fulfills those fundamental human desires to love and to be loved. And by loving our Lord, I can gain a better understanding of myself because it is He who created me. I am weak. I am restless. I am uncertain. But even in all my weakness and sinfulness, I should always strive to draw near to Christ. For Christ loves me just His Father loves Him.
Response:
Taking some time to deeply examine my relationships to family, friends, and strangers as well as seeing how I love them all. Through this, also seeing how Jesus has loved me.
Totus tuus,
- JD
Crucifix // Busted Halo
