To Love Those whom No One Else Loves

Danielle Heckenkamp underscores the message of Our Lady of Fatima to pray and sacrifice for all souls.

The word ‘love’ is an interesting word. I can be applied across many facets of life and in relation to many different circumstances. When we think of “love,” thoughts usually drift to our family and close friends, but Jesus did not limit His love to the apostles – He offered it even to those who betrayed Him. As Catholics, we are also to imitate the life of Christ and what better way than through His love and sacrifice? Ultimately, isn’t love a form of sacrifice?

As Christ laid down His life for us, so too should we be willing to lay down our lives for other souls in a spiritual form – by prayer and sacrifice.

There are many examples in the Bible where those who were alone, saddened, sick, and weak sought Christ and they were all welcomed by Our Lord. It was the ill woman, who suffered from bleeding, that desired to touch the cloak of Christ for healing. In Matthew Chapter 8, the power of Christ’s healing is quite powerful as the leper is cleansed, the centurion’s servant is made healthy, and the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law is relieved. Christ gave healing and faith to these precious souls, something that we may not be able to do physically, but we can ask Christ that he may give the graces and healing. All souls are viewed by Christ with love and so too, we should use His approach in a similar fashion within our lives.

“Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee.” Matthew 8:13

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What does it mean to love as Christ loved? Or to care for others as Christ cared for them? It is to love without reserve. To embrace all souls, whether known to us or not, and to be concerned for their spiritual welfare. We love, sacrifice, and pray for those near and dear to our hearts and for those who publicly have asked for prayers. But what about the souls who are alone? The souls that are seeking the Truth, but have not found it yet? The souls that hunger to be loved, to be gifted a smile, or are in a state of despair? We cannot forget about these souls too. We must not forget to love those souls whom no one else loves. This is true love.

In the Third Apparition of Fatima on July 13, 1917, Our Lady said to the three children,

“Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make a sacrifice, ‘O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'”

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It is through daily sacrifices and prayers that we can assist in spreading God’s love and mercy to all souls. #catholicmom

The pathway of earth to eternal life oftentimes is long and treacherous, but through God’s grace, love and mercy, souls have an opportunity to find faith and hope. For those souls who don’t know what they lack in this life, let’s pray for them. For those souls who have not found the Truth, let’s pray for them. For those souls who struggle with mental and physical limitations, let’s pray for them. For those souls who struggle with spiritual attacks, let’s pray for them.

It is through daily sacrifices and prayers that we can assist in spreading God’s love and mercy to all souls by remembering to not only pray for those whom we love, but to love and pray for those whom no one else loves.