The Fullness of Love

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

This Sunday’s readings call us to the essence of the heart of the Gospel: our vocation to love - simply stated by Jesus, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This summons contains all that the Law and Prophets proclaim. The great revelation of Jesus’ command is found in a gentle simplicity which opens us to the complexity of the fullness of the Law that is “to love.”

We know that love can never be commanded of another; love in the human context is a capturing of the heart in a freewill opening to the other. In Jesus’ admonition of the heart we are called to see - and to be - the “beloved” within ourselves in God. It is the love that molds which we extend to others. We begin to see the world, ourselves, and one another through the eyes of love. Love reflects love back to itself, as both the seer and the seen are held in love.

The health of a person, a community and a society, can be measured on its ability to love. This entails loving so as “to be” love, and not only for those for whom this might be easy, but also when it is difficult. Herein lies the true essence of love: to love when and where it might be difficult. Our love for God is the reservoir that we drink and draw from.

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, may all of our hearts, minds, and wills be open to the fullness of God, as shown in the fullness of love, as our hearts are joined together in the God who loves us so deeply,

I am your brother,

Father Larry Gosselin ofm