IF HE EVER DID EXIST AT ALL
Memorial of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Pastors
Lk 10:1-9
Today is Valentines Day, but, please, give me a break, it is not the feast of St. Valentines today. There is no St. Valentine who existed. There is a preparatory school within my parish named after a certain “St. Valentine”, and I cannot help but feel annoyed each time I see it. Valentines Day is not a liturgical feast because there is no St. Valentine.
However, the message of Valentines Day is certainly along the lines of the Gospel call to love one another. The only difference is that the Gospel speaks of agape while Valentines Day, more often than not, highlights eros. Agape is a higher degree of love than eros. Eros is physical love while agape goes even beyond the physical. Because it is physical love, eros is not lasting as physical attraction may sooner or later fade away. What a pity if people love each other simply because they are physically attracted to each other. That is not love at all! Not that eros is bad or sinful, it simply must transcend itself and reach agape if love is to last till death and, yes, beyond the grave.
Christian love is agape. It is the love between brethren. It is the love that exists beyond physical attraction. A person may not be physically attracted to another person, but still truly loves that person. Remember Bl. Teresa of Calcutta? She is agape personified. She herself confessed that the sight and stench of leprosy did not attract her, and yet she reached out, embraced, bathed, fed, and served the leprous. Bl. Teresa herself was not a beauty queen, but we like looking at her pictures. She was not beautiful, but she was lovely. The reason is she continues personifying agape well beyond her passing away. But Bl. Teresa’s love, no matter how great it was, was merely an approximation of the love of Jesus Christ. She loved as Jesus loved, for the command given us by Christ was not only that we love one another but also that we love one another as He loved us.
The lives of holy men and women, like Bl. Teresa of Calcutta and the brothers, Cyril and Methodius, who spent their lives for the evangelization of the Slavic people and whose memories we celebrate today, show us that agape, while more difficult than eros, is possible, meaningful, and lasting. But Valentines? I have yet to read what he did for humanity…if he ever did exist at all.
Lk 10:1-9
Today is Valentines Day, but, please, give me a break, it is not the feast of St. Valentines today. There is no St. Valentine who existed. There is a preparatory school within my parish named after a certain “St. Valentine”, and I cannot help but feel annoyed each time I see it. Valentines Day is not a liturgical feast because there is no St. Valentine.
However, the message of Valentines Day is certainly along the lines of the Gospel call to love one another. The only difference is that the Gospel speaks of agape while Valentines Day, more often than not, highlights eros. Agape is a higher degree of love than eros. Eros is physical love while agape goes even beyond the physical. Because it is physical love, eros is not lasting as physical attraction may sooner or later fade away. What a pity if people love each other simply because they are physically attracted to each other. That is not love at all! Not that eros is bad or sinful, it simply must transcend itself and reach agape if love is to last till death and, yes, beyond the grave.
Christian love is agape. It is the love between brethren. It is the love that exists beyond physical attraction. A person may not be physically attracted to another person, but still truly loves that person. Remember Bl. Teresa of Calcutta? She is agape personified. She herself confessed that the sight and stench of leprosy did not attract her, and yet she reached out, embraced, bathed, fed, and served the leprous. Bl. Teresa herself was not a beauty queen, but we like looking at her pictures. She was not beautiful, but she was lovely. The reason is she continues personifying agape well beyond her passing away. But Bl. Teresa’s love, no matter how great it was, was merely an approximation of the love of Jesus Christ. She loved as Jesus loved, for the command given us by Christ was not only that we love one another but also that we love one another as He loved us.
The lives of holy men and women, like Bl. Teresa of Calcutta and the brothers, Cyril and Methodius, who spent their lives for the evangelization of the Slavic people and whose memories we celebrate today, show us that agape, while more difficult than eros, is possible, meaningful, and lasting. But Valentines? I have yet to read what he did for humanity…if he ever did exist at all.
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 4:00 PM
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