Always renew and purify our love

THAT’S simply because of the tension between our nature

and our supernatural goal, not to mention our present wounded human

condition that is prone to temptation and sin and to all kinds of

weaknesses. We unavoidably contend with these conditions in our

earthly life.

  

            We can always start with good intentions and the best of

our efforts in anything that we do. But if we do not constantly renew

and purify our love for God and neighbour that should inspire all our

actions, we simply cannot go the distance.

              Somewhere along the way, our energy will weaken, our

motives will get warped, our objectives will get displaced. We should

be realistic and humble enough to acknowledge this fact of life and do

something about it. In this life, the law that we ought to follow is

to always renew and purify our love for God and neighbour.

   

            Yes, there is struggle involved. In fact, we are already

told by our Christian faith that our life here on earth is a warfare.

“The life of man upon earth is a warfare.” (Job 7,1) We need to be

always prepared to do battle with the enemies of our soul and of God

that undermine our true love.

  

            These enemies are identified as the world itself with its

lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life and the

devil himself. St. Paul reminds us that our spiritual enemies are no

joke.

  

            He said that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but

against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the

darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly

places.” (Eph 6,12)

  

            To constantly renew and purify our love means to steadily

conform our love to the love God has for us as shown to us by Christ

and as effected in us through the Holy Spirit. That is why at one

point Christ himself said that we have to love one another as he

himself has loved us. (cfr. Jn 13,34)

  

            Given our unstable human condition, we need to make

constant effort to conform our love to Christ’s love that goes all the

way to assuming all our sins and offering us his mercy.

  

            Everyday we have to make plans and strategies of how to

make our love reflect Christ’s love better. This means that we really

have to actively look at Christ and follow his example more closely.

Like him, we should be willing to do a lot of good and be patient,

understanding and merciful with those who do not practice Christian

love.

   

            In this, we have to be willing to suffer. That’s why the

love for the cross is a sure sign that we are truly loving. We have to

learn how to overcome our tendency to be self-absorbed and

self-centered, interested more in our own good than in the good of the

others.

  

            The usual events of our day actually offer us many

opportunities to renew and purify our love. There are challenges to

tackle, setbacks and disappointments to suffer, etc. These and many

others are good sources to conform our love to Christ’s love. Let’s

not take them for granted.

  

            If our love is real, that is, if it truly reflects

Christ’s love, we will always enjoy a certain sense of peace and joy

in spite of the suffering we can encounter. We may die with Christ,

but we will surely resurrect with him also.

  

            We need to see to it that everyday, we are conscious of

renewing and purifying our love for God and others often. We should

never take this for granted.