Essentials for Life 11 5 06

The great Greek philosophers through their minds came to know of the existence of God. Yet they asked themselves, "If there is only one God, what does God do all the time?" The only answer they had was that God somehow gazed only on his own divinity. Our Sacred Scripture reveals to us that God is a Trinity of persons who know and love one another in perfect unity. The being of God, the knowledge of God and love of God are equally possessed by each person. In some way the essence of God involves personal relationships. We humans are images of God in that we know and love. A Vatican II document further explained what it means to be images of God: "Humans through their dealings with others, through reciprocal duties, and though fraternal dialogue develop all their gifts and are able to rise to their destiny." In effect, we are made to be lovers, to give ourselves to each other.

That God is love is a revealed truth. Unless God revealed divine love for us, we could not know that we are so loved. God's care for the Hebrew people first revealed divine love for humans. Jesus revealed God's love for all humanity through his life, death and resurrection. John's Epistle summarizes the meaning of Jesus' life when he said, "God is love." This means that if God creates, God creates in love; if God rules, God rules in love. All that God does is an expression of God's nature which we are told is love.

In a special way the cross, the suffering of God in Jesus, reveals the love of God for humans. Jesus said those so important words, "He who sees me, sees the Father." Jesus sacrifice, his selfemptying, His other centeredness manifest God's love. Divine love was shown in Jesus selfgiving, irrespective of the person's worthiness. His love was constant and forgiving, even though, in some cases, no love had been returned. Meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus reveals God's love for us. This kind of prayer is called "the school of sanctity." Jesus expressed divine love for us by shedding the last drop of his blood. He held nothing back in dying for us. The crucifix hangs in most places throughout the Catholic world, reminding us of the depths of God's love for us.

All love is God's love. Our very capacity to love is given to us by God. For love to exist there has to be some kind of equality. No creature could adequately return God's love with any fair measure. God has empowered us out of his own love for us. God gifts us with the power of divine love so that we can truly love as we are loved. Our love for God is a gift rather than our achievement. God loves because that is who God is. It is because God wills it that we are able to love adequately. Philosophers declare that love is diffusive of itself. Human experience is that love is dynamic. The loving person wants to give love, spread love. In spite of all our failing, we know that an immense amount of love exists in the world. We have all heard the expression that love is one thing that grows as you give it away.

Jesus said, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." As Jesus revealed God's love for humans by his words and actions, so have his

followers been called to reveal God's love by our words an actions. We are given the privilege and duty to continue to make God's love known throughout the centuries. God created us out of love for love.

The word for "sin" in the Hebrew language comes from a root that means "to miss the mark, not hitting the target one aims at." An author wrote recently that "sin" means to "miss the point of human existence." We are made to love. Our society may at times acknowledge or pay lip service to love, but we are generally encouraged to think only of ourselves. So much of the advertising that we encounter daily encourages pride, greed, and lust. I have quoted recently the words of Mother Teresa: "A life not lived for others is not worth living." So much of family life involves giving to each other. Certainly marriage is based on mutual giving. Good business requires proper service of clients. There are abuses of love because it is so important in our lives. The paradox of the Gospel is that in giving, we receive.