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Ready for a quiz about love? How would you answer these questions?
Let me help you stretch the rules a bit: You must begin answering these “true or false” questions with, “It depends.” If by “love” you mean, “the very strong emotions I’m feeling right now,” then you must answer with, “False.” Feelings, especially intense ones, bloom and fade quickly. They’re not a sufficient foundation for love. Also, strong feelings can cloud or even smother rational judgment. Finally, feelings, especially the intense ones, can easily be attached to unworthy objects, or can be disproportionate. Like every important human aspiration, the proper exemplar and measure is found in God.
The Medievals spoke of amor benevolentiae—which is poorly translated as “benevolent love”—but it means so much more! To love someone is to will the best for the beloved. What is the best for any beloved? What is best for every human person is union with God, a union begun in this life and continuing into eternity. That union with God is the fruition of holiness. The most reliable path to holiness, the strongest supports for joyful and fruitful chastity, are found within the authentic life and teaching of the Church founded by Christ—the Catholic Church. Anything contrary to the authentic teaching of the Church entrusted to Her by Christ will preclude the life of holiness for which we were made.
When it comes to love, St. Ignatius Loyola teaches us how to love as God loves.
This great saint taught that the hallmark of love is the exchange of gifts between the lover and the beloved. Each human person is the beloved of God; our satisfaction, completion, and perfection are found in union with God. In this life, we move towards that union with God by loving as he does.
Saint Ignatius asks us to
Next:
Then:
Such love, he goes on to say, calls for a response:
Now we can answer the three questions:
When I write next, I will speak of fostering small Christian communities. Until then, let’s keep each other in prayer.
