Community

2012
 LOVING GOD
&
CHRISTIAN LOVE
 WHAT IS LOVE?
 Webster’s Dictionary:
 Love is a deep and tender feeling and
affection for or attachment or devotion to
a person or persons;
 A feeling of brotherhood and good will
toward other people;
 Mankind’s devotion to and desire for God
as the supreme good;
 God’s tender regard and concern for
mankind.
 WHAT IS LOVE
ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?
 St. Paul: 1Cor 13:1-7, “If I speak with human tongue
and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy
gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy
and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries; if
I have faith great enough to move mountains, but
have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I
have to the poor and hand over my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love
is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is
not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking,
it is not prone to anger, neither does it brood over
injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but
rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s
forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to
endure.”
 CHURCH TEACHINGS ABOUT LOVE:
 Vatican II, Church in the Modern World
(Gaudium et spes) No.24, “In His fatherly
care for all of us, God desired that all men
should form one family and deal with each
other in a spirit of brotherhood… Love of
God and of one’s neighbor, then, is the
first and greatest commandment
(Mat.22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord
your God with your whole heart, with your
whole soul, and with all your mind. You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.”), this
is a matter of utmost importance to men
who are coming to rely more and more on
each other and to a world which is
becoming more unified everyday.”
 Catechism of the Catholic Church
(CCC) Nos. 1822; 1844

 “Charity (or love) is the theological

virtue by which we love God above
all things for His own sake, and our
neighbor as ourselves for the love
of God… Charity/Love, the form of
all the virtues binds everything
together in perfect harmony.”
 Catechism for the Filipino
Catholics (CFC) Nos. 953; 955
 “The love command creates a
community of love called to
responsible service of one
another. The love command
applies to us, not as isolated
individuals but as members of
a Christian community…
 God’s reconciling love
creates this community of
love while calling it to bring
about further reconciliation.
Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary
Council of the Philippines (PCPII)
Nos.70; 305; 307

 “Love, after all, is what

enables us to know God and
to be like Him, for God is love.
“Whoever is without love
does not know God. For God
is love.” (1John 4:8)
 1 John 4:9-11
 “In this way the love of God was
revealed to us; God sent his only Son
into the world so that we might have
life through him. In this is love: not
that we have loved God, but that he
loved us and sent his Son as
expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also must love one
another. No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God
remains in us and his love is brought
to perfection in us.”
 … for our interpersonal
relationships and social structures
to be put in order, justice is not
sufficient.
Love is necessary. While the
demand of justice is implied by love,
still justice attains its inner fullness
only in love.
 For in justice, the other person
can remain an “another,” and
alien.

In love, the other is a friend, even

a brother or sister in Christ.
 Love is fraternity.
Love is at the heart of
solidarity
 …. As Church we must show
the way of justice and love, in
solidarity with all, but
particularly the poor and the
weak, in the building of
peace.
 A WAY OF LIFE.
 Love is the way of life for us.
Christians and members of God’s
kingdom.

 It is so because we form One Body in

Christ, thus we are close to one
another. “Love one another. As I love
you, so must your love be for each
other,” (John 13:34).
 However, it is not easy to love.
Some people are so disagreeable we
find it difficult to love them.
But if we love a person for his or her
own sake – because he or she is
attractive, good, & kind – that is not
Christian love but only a natural love
and affection.
Neither do we have Christian love if
we love someone for purely
personal motives like getting for
ourselves a favor in return.
 . Christ makes this clear: Mat.5,
“If you love those who love you, what credit is
that to you? Even sinners love those who love
them. If you do good to those who do good to
you, how can you claim any credit? Sinners do
as much. If you lend to those from whom you
expect repayment, what merit is there in it for
you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting
to be repaid in full. Love your enemy and do
good; lend without expecting repayment. Then
will your recompense be great. You will be
rightly called sons of the Most High, since He
Himself is good to the ungrateful and the
wicked.”
 Having true Christian love means
being able to love even disagreeable
people and those who can be of no
possible service to us.
 It means being able to treat these
people kindly because we know that
God loves them and because Christ
asks us to love them.

John 13:35, “This is how all will

know you for my disciples; your love
for one another.”
 We love others because
they are members of the
human family.

Like us, they are created by

God and redeemed by
Christ.
 LOVE OF GOD AND LOVE OF
NEIGHBOR.
 Christ summarizes all His teachings in
two beautiful commandments:
Mt.22:37-39, “You shall love the
Lord your God with your whole
heart, with your whole soul, and
with all your mind. You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.”
Loving God and Loving Neighbor
is not shown by mere prayer,
devotions and religious
observance.
St. John said in 1John 4:20,
“Whoever loves God must also
love his brother.”
If we truly share Christ’s love
for the Father, we must share
His love and God’s love with
our neighbors.
On the other extreme there are those
of us who think that because we do
all kinds of charitable acts for our
neighbor, there is no need for us to
pray or go to Church.
(This is a wrong interpretation.)
 The basis of our love for one another is
God.
It is He who calls us to a fellowship with
His Son, Jesus Christ
(1Cor 1:9, “God is faithful and by him you
were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ.”).
Therefore, when we think of
love for our neighbor, we
must remember three points:
1. Our genuine love is a participation
in God’s love.
2. Our love for our neighbor has a direct
orientation to God; for God is present in
our neighbor and in our act of loving.
(“You can give without loving, but you
cannot love without giving.”
– Mother Theresa)
3. Our explicit love of neighbor is the
deepest dimension of our love for
God.
 PRACTICAL WAYS OF LOVING GOD:
 1. Personal Prayer – Personal communication with God
 2. Corporate Prayer – Mass and Prayer Meetings
 3. Brothers and Sisters – Sharing thoughts, gifts, experiences, and needs with
other Christians.
 4. Scripture – Reading the Bible, the Word of God.
 5. Money - using one’s financial resources to serve His kingdom. Loving God
involves surrendering everything in his hands – including money and possessions. Two
specific ways that a Christian can use his money to serve God’s kingdom are the practices
of tithing and almsgiving.)
 6. Use of Time- Christians should not spend all their free time on personal
leisure and recreation. They should invest some of their time in Christian service –
whether in the body of Christ, the family, or directly to non-Christians. Regular prayer,
Scripture reading, and Christian fellowship (prayer meetings, bible studies, etc.) should
have high priority in the Christian’s schedule. If a Christian has not surrendered to God in
the concrete reality of his daily schedule he is neglecting an important way to love God.)
7. Decisions - A person’s method of making decisions reveals his values and
priorities. If he is self-sufficient and independent, he will probably make decisions by
asking, “What do I want to do?” What will please me most?” … If a person depends solely
upon other people he will ask ‘What does Bro. Louie or Sis. Susan want me to do?” “What
would please Sis. Juliet and Bro. Nap?” ….. Those Christians who have surrendered their
lives totally to God will ask “What does God want me to do? How can I most please the
Lord?” …..
Loving God includes making decisions according to His will.
 PRACTICAL WAYS TO
CHRISTIAN LOVE
By doing the Seven Corporal Works
of Mercy:
 1. Feeding the hungry
 2. Giving water to the thirsty
 3. Welcoming the strangers
 4. Clothing the naked
 5. Attending to the sick
 6. Visiting the prisoners
 7. Burying the dead.
In Memory of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta.lnk