By Love, In Love, and For Love

AnnAliese Harry recalls how the Scriptures and the saints remind us of our call to love as God loves.

Not too long ago, I was in a conversation in which I was interiorly prompted to remind the other person, “Satan loves division, discord, anger, and animosity.” That declarative sentence has provided, and continues to provide, me with food for thought and prayer in the weeks since.

Too many times, in the thick of life and the devil’s temptations, we tend to lose sight of our purpose as God-fearing and God-loving people. Most cradle Catholics from a certain generation can answer the question, “Why were we created?” without skipping a beat. Yet, at various times in our daily living, all of us struggle to keep our focus on God’s desire for our thoughts, words, and actions.

We have been taught, and I believe our hearts are oriented to know the truth, that God is love. In Scripture, we are pointedly reminded,

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Many times, we hear those words read at weddings as a reminder of the commitment of the vows being exchanged. Yet, how often do we pause and reflect on a regular basis about God being love, and the blueprint for love spelled out in Scripture?

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God is love.

When God created us, He poured His love into each one of us. As we recently heard at Mass,

“Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:30-31)

We were created by love, in love, and for love.

Yet, many times we are caught up in the turmoil wreaked by Satan, who loves division and seeks to sew discord everywhere. Anxiety, guilt, shame, frustration, jealousy, pride, despair, even most expressions of anger and manifestations of doubt, come from Satan, who relishes in the opportunity to lead us further from God.

And while we are tempted to give into those feelings, we are reminded that the love which created us, which poured forth from God, is waiting patiently for us to pause, collect ourselves, and turn with confidence toward Him.

Ultimately, that love is what draws us back to God in Reconciliation. We are reconciling, or restoring, our hearts with our Creator. He knows that each of us are fallible, and He knows we will succumb to the snares of the devil at times. So, through Christ, and through the healing sacrament—the “conduit of grace,” if you will—our relationship is restored and many times our hearts are strengthened to extend the love of the Father toward those in our own circles of influence.

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How often do we pause and reflect on a regular basis about God being love, and the blueprint for love spelled out in Scripture? #CatholicMom

The wisdom of the saints, those perfectly imperfect humans who strove to put God and His love first, showcase the power of God’s love. Our saints faced the same temptations we face, and yet show us what it looks like to respond to those temptations with commitment to love.

Through their own sanctification, we see the proof of God’s love. He waited for them patiently to search, reach out for, and cling to His outstretched hand, and when it came time for them to leave the earthly trappings of this world, He raised them to the glory of the Church Triumphant.

Like us, the saints did not have easy lives.

Rather, they had a target focus: God’s love.

As we continue to travel this journey of life, and as the temptations toward pride, envy, anger, gluttony, wrath, lust, and sloth, hit us squarely in the middle of our foreheads on a daily basis, may we all remember to take a moment to pause before we act, ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, and rest in the assurance that when we first seek God, we seek love.

Our search for love in God will yield results of love flowing through us in our thoughts, words, and actions.

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