LOVING BETTER
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Saturday in the 1st Week of Lent
Mt 5:43-48
Here are three illusions about love.
The first and greatest illusion is that we really love when we feel like loving. Certainly, loving needs a lot of feeling, but loving is more than just mushy romance. Love is a decision. It is a steady movement of the will, desiring the good of the beloved. It is not an emotional appetite. To love is to decide to love; thus, loving involves more than the hypothalamus (the center of human emotion, not really the heart). It engages the whole person who decides to love, not just the person’s feelings. Because it loving does not depend on the one to be loved, but on the one who decides to love no matter what, it is indeed possible to love even the unlovable.
The second illusion is that loving means liking. To unmask the lie behind this illusion, one must understand the first and greatest illusion. To love is not to like because love is not a mere emotional appetite. The person to be loved is not similar with a food that we may like to eat today but no more tomorrow. When Jesus gave us the commandment to love our enemies, He was not out of His mind in admonishing us thus because He knew that loving is not the same as liking. He said, “Love your enemies” and not “Like your enemies”. It is very impossible to like every person that comes our way, much less, our enemies. But it is indeed feasible to love any one we decide to love.
The third illusion is that love begets love. We certainly hope it does, but love does not always beget love. There are many times, we know by experience, when our love is not reciprocated by love. On the contrary, we may suffer for our love. Worse, the people we love may even be the ones to cause our sufferings. Thus, love does not beget love. Well, not always at least. Loving our enemies may not necessarily make them love us in return. But still, we may love them precisely because we may decide to love no matter it entails for us.
Lent is a time to learn loving better. Loving better means deciding to love.
Mt 5:43-48
Here are three illusions about love.
The first and greatest illusion is that we really love when we feel like loving. Certainly, loving needs a lot of feeling, but loving is more than just mushy romance. Love is a decision. It is a steady movement of the will, desiring the good of the beloved. It is not an emotional appetite. To love is to decide to love; thus, loving involves more than the hypothalamus (the center of human emotion, not really the heart). It engages the whole person who decides to love, not just the person’s feelings. Because it loving does not depend on the one to be loved, but on the one who decides to love no matter what, it is indeed possible to love even the unlovable.
The second illusion is that loving means liking. To unmask the lie behind this illusion, one must understand the first and greatest illusion. To love is not to like because love is not a mere emotional appetite. The person to be loved is not similar with a food that we may like to eat today but no more tomorrow. When Jesus gave us the commandment to love our enemies, He was not out of His mind in admonishing us thus because He knew that loving is not the same as liking. He said, “Love your enemies” and not “Like your enemies”. It is very impossible to like every person that comes our way, much less, our enemies. But it is indeed feasible to love any one we decide to love.
The third illusion is that love begets love. We certainly hope it does, but love does not always beget love. There are many times, we know by experience, when our love is not reciprocated by love. On the contrary, we may suffer for our love. Worse, the people we love may even be the ones to cause our sufferings. Thus, love does not beget love. Well, not always at least. Loving our enemies may not necessarily make them love us in return. But still, we may love them precisely because we may decide to love no matter it entails for us.
Lent is a time to learn loving better. Loving better means deciding to love.
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 4:00 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Lord Jesus, you are a model on how love should be shown to everyone. You accepted your Father's will at His terms not your own. You suffered at lot during your prayers at the Garden of Gethsemane but you still follow God's will. May we always love those who needs our love and be able to fulfil your law to love one another even if it needs to be a tough love.
God bless po...
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