Being Christian means that on Valentine’s Day we have the greatest Valentine of all: Jesus! Truly, today we celebrate love Incarnate and the boundless love He has for each one of us. And we couldn’t ask for a better Valentine!
He loved us before we loved Him, and will never cease to love us. His love never changes even though we fail to love Him back as we should. He’s there for us in the best moments of our lives and the worst; in our greatest triumphs and our lowest lows; when we call out for Him and even when we don’t. His is the love we cannot live without, because we were designed for Him and His love. We were made through Him and for Him and we can only ever feel complete and fulfilled when we live in Him.
In a world that is so confused about how to love, Jesus stands as the one and only perfect example of what love is. His is a love so great that death could not hold it, sin cannot diminish it, and all of eternity will never exhaust it! May Jesus be our Valentine today, and every day! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
I recently finished a biography on St. Philip Neri and so enjoyed reading about the love he had for Jesus and the joy he radiated. It was so refreshing and inspiring to read about a man that on fire with love for Jesus. And it got me thinking that it’s been a long time since I felt that I was radiating Jesus’ love through me.
So lately I’ve really been trying to let Jesus’ love fill me up. And I don’t mean in an intellectual sort of way, but in that my-heart-is-overflowing and my-soul-is-glowing kind of way. The way I much imagine St. Philip experienced it. And the only way I’ve come anywhere close to getting present to Jesus’ love is through gratitude.
Jesus has done, and is doing so much for each one of us every second of every day that it is so easy to overlook it, to take it all for granted. It’s so easy to forget about the burning love He first had for us that drove Him to become man and suffer the Cross. It’s so easy to miss the extraordinary love that is found in the Eucharist. It’s so easy to ignore all the aids He has given to help us make it to Him in Heaven (the other sacraments, the Bible, so many graces, prayer, Mary’s guidance, our guardian angels, the list goes on and on…). If we were truly aware of all of that each day, it would be impossible to keep our love for Jesus inside!
There was a delightful story in the book that St. Philip was so in love with Jesus, that he often had to divert his attention before Mass so that he wouldn’t go into ecstasies while saying the Mass (his favorite diversion: a book of jokes – I kid you not!)! Can you imagine being so wildly in love with Jesus that you didn’t have to prepare yourself for Mass, and in fact, had to (umm?) unprepare yourself?
Such things may seem beyond the realm of possibility for us, but Jesus is calling you and me both to sainthood. He’s calling us to be on fire for love of Him and to share that love with the world. So it is my prayer that tomorrow before we start our mornings, we can really get present to the unbounded love Jesus has for us, let it fill us up, and then share it with everyone around us.
It’s so difficult to be in the world, without being of the world. There’s so much hardship involved in being a light of Christ amidst all of the darkness. But that is exactly what is so urgently needed!
The world needs people who will take hate, injustice and mockery and return it with love. Christians who in the midst of all the malice, greed and unfairness around them will by example show a better way to live. And God knows it’s not easy.
Then again, there is nothing in the life of Christ to suggest that a Christian life is going to be easy. I mean, honestly – if God, after the indignity of becoming man, is not only rejected by the very men He wishes to save, but is also put to death by them – do we really think as His followers that our lives are going to be easy?
But the harder the path, the more graces dispensed. And let’s think about this: difficulties in exchange for supernatural gifts from God through which you can make a difference for others – seems like a good trade, right? And it probably goes without saying, but the places it’s hardest to share Jesus’ love are the very places it is most needed!
God needs each and every one of us to be examples of His love. Since we all have different routines, different personalities, and touch different people, we each have a role that no one else in the world can play. Maybe for you that means returning lots of little acts of rudeness with kindness, or forgiving the friend/family member who hurt you, or volunteering at a food kitchen, or just acknowledging each person you meet throughout the day as an immortal soul worthy of at least a smile!
But whatever the case, one fact remains: the world is so broken and your light is so desperately needed. Share Jesus’ love through your example!
Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of things. Sometimes it’s hard to find hope. There’s so much violence in the world – so much hatred – so much greed. And as hard as we all try to shield ourselves from it, sometimes it touches us. Sometimes it even reaches out and grabs hold of us.
If it wasn’t for Jesus I wonder how we could make sense of any of it. It if wasn’t for His promise of Eternal Life – of an end to all the pain and suffering – of a meaning for all the pain and suffering – I wonder how we could do more than just cope.
But much better than just coping, through Jesus we can find hope. We can find healing, forgiveness, strength, love and (if we’re without it now) eventually hope, peace and joy. Through His promises (His Word) and through His presence in both prayer and the Eucharist, we can find proof that
- we’re loved
-we’re enough
-all our suffering will ultimately be used for good
-something infinitely better than anything we can imagine is in store for us
I’m reminded of quote from one of my all time favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (because really, how could you not like a 1300 page book?):
Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live…..the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope.
May everyone out there in need of hope find it, and find Him
Christian Living | admin | 
February 14, 2011 10:20 pm | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe