Just a word before we go...Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time...November 3, 2024

Love, love, love...is any word in the English language more used, or abused, than l o v e ?

We hear in the movies, on television, even in our lives, sometimes...if you loved me, you would do thus and such….followed by some desire or request of the other person that you acquiesce to such desire or request.  Sometimes these requests are harmless, and sometimes they are not. Whichever they are, they have nothing to do with love, but are usually more about control. Love may be a many splendored thing, but it is not about control.

Jesus, in today’s gospel, speaks about love, specifically about love of God and love of neighbor.  The love Jesus refers to has nothing to do with control, but rather, is about the unmitigated concern for another, the desire of only good for the other, unblemished by personal gain.  Think of the parent’s love of a child who wants to move far away or pursue a path that is counter to what that parent desired for the child...or think of the gut-wrenching  choices that people have to make at their loved one’s death beds…that is love in action.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Throughout history we have heard from others who echo Jesus’ thoughts; three persons in particular come to mind:

St. Therese Lisieux, “The Little Flower,” from the 19th century, who said “do all that you do with love.”  Her “little way” was to do all things with love..

Julian of Norwich, an anchoress from the 16th century, preached that we should live in joy, take delight in life...that “all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”  Julian sought to replace the image of a punishing God with that of a motherly, courteous God, approachable and accessible through the Holy Spirit.

St. Martin de Porres, who died on this day in 1639, is remembered as the first person of African descent from our hemisphere to be elevated to sainthood. Martin was devoted to service to the poor, claiming that compassion toward others was the greatest virtue. 

These three, and so many others, understood that love of God is inextricably tied up with love of neighbor. 

It turns out that love is, indeed, a many splendored thing...and it is not about control; it is about the heart.