GOD IS LOVE
He who remains in Love remains in
God, and God in him (1 Jn 4:16).
Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict
XVI
• Part 1: The Love of God is offered to all
human beings, and is related to human
love;
• Part 2: Christians are called to express this
wonderful love to those in need in various
ways.
Part 1:
Who Is God? Who are We?
• Sometimes the Name of God is associated
with hatred and violence. But the Bible
tells us, “God is Love”, and that before all
things he has loved us (1 Jn 4:16). But
what do we mean when we say “God is
Love”? What do we mean by the word
love? (cf. pars. 1-2).
What is “Love”?
• We use the word ‘love’ to
describe lots of different
things: we feel love for
our mum and dad, our
pets, our country, our
job.
• A special type of love is
that which exists between
a man and a woman (cf.
par. 2).
A Question Arises!
• Are all these different forms of love
basically one? Is ‘love’ one reality that has
lots of different expressions?
• Or…are we simply using the same word—
’love’—to describe totally different
realities? (Cf. par. 2).
The Answer?
• All these types of love
are the one reality—
or at least they can
be (Cf. par. 8).
• Let’s see how……..
Eros and Agape
• In Ancient Greek culture,
the word eros was used
to describe the love
between a woman and
man. They thought of it
as something so powerful
that it must have come
from the gods: it was a
divine ‘madness’ that
caused people to act as if
drunk! Because of this,
they also believed that if
it was really strong it
would draw people closer
to the divine (Cf. par. 34).
Eros and Agape continued.
• But what if eros gets carried away with
itself? If ‘erotic’ love is our only focus, and
if it is just an “intoxicated” love, we can
end up de-humanising others: in other
words, they become ‘sex-objects’ rather
than persons. From a Christian
perspective, this actually leads us away
from the Divine, not closer to it (Cf. par 45).
Eros and Agape continued.
• So what is to be done? Well, eros is good and
can lead to God, but only when it is disciplined
and coupled with another type of love: agape
(Cf. par 5; 6).
• Agape is another Greek word used many times
in the New Testament to describe the love
Christians had for one another and for the poor
and needy. It is a special type of ‘spiritual’ love
“shaped by faith in Jesus Christ”. It is the type of
love that Jesus has for us, and the love he
showed in dying on the cross for us (Cf. par 3;
6; 7).
Eros and Agape together
• Eros, or ‘erotic’ love, can actually lead us
to God when agape-love is also at work.
• What that means is that sexual love
between a man and woman can be an
expression of our faith in Jesus.
• That’s pretty amazing! But it requires
discipline and growth (Cf. par 5-7)…
The Progress of Love
• To start with, romantic, erotic love between a couple is
•
full of exciting emotions and feelings, but it begins
insecurely.
When it matures it becomes less selfish and shows care
and concern for the other. It is willing to sacrifice for the
good of the beloved. This is where two people really
discover each other (Cf. par 6).
The Progress of Love II
• When this love matures even more, it resembles
agape more fully. It becomes secure and
•
•
devoted to one person alone.
It also has the promise of lasting forever.
It is a journey through which by giving of
ourselves more, we discover ourselves, the one
we love, and God more. So Agape and Eros are
not opposed to each other (Cf. par 6-7).
Summary of Part One:
• So, to summarise, human love and the
love God has for us are fundamentally
connected.
• Because God became a human being in
Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life out of
love, we can learn how to humanely love,
and meet God in doing so.
What Does The Bible Tell Us About
God and His Love For Us?
• The Old Testament
shows us that there is
only one God, and
that he is the source
of all creation. Having
created human
beings, God also loves
human beings
personally (Cf. par 9).
What Does The Bible Tell Us About
God and His Love For Us?
• A few of the Old Testament Prophets
actually describe God’s love for his people
Israel in strongly erotic images! For
example, God is the husband and Israel
the wife: their married life began when
God gave the covenant to Israel (Cf. par
9).
What Does The Bible Tell Us About
God and His Love For Us?
• God has Eros for his people, but this love
is also Agape (Cf. par 9; 10).
• God gave his love freely to his people,
they did not earn it. And when Israel (the
wife) “cheated” on God (the husband) by
believing in other gods, God always
forgave her. This is agape (Cf. par 10).
What Does the Bible Tell Us About
Human Beings?
• God created man and woman equally and
created them for each other. By nature
they are driven towards eros and express
this in marriage (Gn 2:23; Cf. par. 11).
• Human beings are raised up and saved by
Jesus’ death and resurrection. We
remember the love Jesus had for us when
we celebrate the Eucharist together (Cf.
par 12, 13-14).
Love of God and Love of Neighbor
• To love God with our whole soul and our neighbor as
•
•
ourself—this is the great commandment set by Jesus (Cf.
par 1).
He taught us about love of neighbor in his parables,
especially the Good Samaritan: our neighbor is not just
our close friend or sister or brother, but anyone in need
(Cf. par 15).
Jesus himself was in need in his lifetime and he
identified himself with the poor, sick, hungry and thirsty.
When we serve such people we serve him, and in
serving him, we serve God (Cf. par 15).
Can Love be Commanded?
• But hold on—isn’t love a feeling? How can
we be commanded to love others? (Cf. par
16).
• Love is not essentially a feeling. Feelings
come and go and the first ‘spark’ of love
can’t be reignited. Love is more than that:
it is always growing, and it involves our
minds, our choices, and above all, our
acceptance (Cf. par 17).
Acceptance
• Our acceptance of God’s love is our response to
•
God’s love. Remember that he “loved us first” (1
Jn 4:16). When we experience his love, love can
blossom within us too (Cf. par 17).
So love is really more than a command—
although it is that too—it is a response to God’s
gift of love for us (Cf. par 1).
Part Two: The Way The Church
Practices Love In The World.
• We have just seen how God loves us and
•
•
especially how this love is shown for us in Jesus
Christ.
When we live in relationship with Jesus we are
called to act as he did; this is the Church’s
responsibility (cf. par. 20).
Love is therefore the service that the Church
carries out for those suffering and in need. We
call this service of love charity (cf. par. 19).
Charity In The Early Church
• The Acts of the Apostles (2:44-5; 4:32-37)
•
shows the Christian community sharing
possessions and distributing goods to those in
need (cf. par. 20).
As the Church grew, this radical form of material
communion could not remain, but the essential
‘core’ did: namely, the willingness to never let
anyone be denied what is needed to live a
dignified life (par. 20).
Charity As An Essential Part Of the
Church’s Ministry
• As the Church grew and developed, the
exercise of charity became established as
one of its essential activities (cf. par. 22).
• Other essential activities included
administering the sacraments and
preaching the gospel (cf. par. 22).
Saint Lawrence
• Saint Lawrence was
responsible for the care
of the poor in Rome in
258 AD. When his deacon
friends were being
captured by persecutors,
Lawrence was given time
to show to the civil
authorities the “Church’s
treasure”. He showed
them the poor and needy
(cf. par. 23).
Charity is the Church’s Nature
• “For the Church,
charity is not a kind
of welfare activity
which could equally
well be left to others,
but is a part of her
nature, an
indispensable
expression of her very
being”. (par. 25a).
Justice and Charity
• An important question today is: Do the
poor need charity or justice? Isn’t
almsgiving a way for the rich to soothe
their consciences while avoiding the hard
work of changing unjust social structures
that keep the poor people poor and
dependent on charity? (cf. par. 26).
The Relationship Between Justice
and Charity.
• While there might be some truth to the last
•
question, much of it is mistaken (cf. par. 26).
It is not the responsibility of the Church to
implement a just social order as such, so that
each person in society has his or her share of
the community’s goods. This is the responsibility
of the State; justice is the measure and “aim of
all politics”. (cf. par. 28a).
The Role of the Church in Society
• The Church is independent of the State (cf. par.
•
•
28a), but in a way is related to it.
How can governments be assured if they are
acting justly? Do not power and special interests
“blind” them at times from knowing what is just?
Well, faith—as an encounter with the living
God—helps purify reason from ‘blind spots’, and
this is where the Church has a role: it can
contribute towards an understanding of the
requirements of justice and how to achieve them
politically (cf. par. 28a).
The Role of the Church in
Society II
• Without interfering with the State’s role, the
•
Church can contribute to justice without
remaining on the sidelines.
It can “reawaken spiritual energy” amongst
people to demonstrate that justice demands
sacrifice and open-mindedness (par. 28).
Charity Has a Special
Importance
• Just social structures are not the whole picture:
•
they cannot replace almsgiving, since charity
essentially is an expression of loving personal
concern for individuals in need (cf. par. 28b).
This is what the Church’s charity organisations
attempt to do.
The lay faithful participate in the functioning of
the social order, in it’s economy and culture, and
so are called to “configure social life correctly”:
charity must animate the “entire lives of the lay
faithful” and therefore also their political activity.
(par. 28b).
State and Church Cooperating
• Mass communication has made our planet
•
•
smaller. We know almost instantly about the
needs of others even very far away from us. We
are challenged to share their difficulties and
come to their aid.
We now have numerous modern means at our
disposal to offer humanitarian assistance.
State and Church agencies have begun
cooperating because of this new situation (cf.
par. 30).
Young People’s Involvement
• Young people today are
increasingly involved as
volunteers for charitable
agencies or Church
agencies. This shows an
unselfish love for others
and a willingness to “lose
oneself” (cf. Luke 17:33)
for others (cf. par. 30).
What Makes Church Charity Unique
• The Church’s distinctive charitable work must be
•
•
free from ideologies. Charitable acts should not
be disregarded just because they carry with
them no agenda for ‘changing the world’.
Rather, we contribute to a better world only by
personally doing good here and now wherever
we have the opportunity.
“The heart sees where love is needed and acts
accordingly” (par. 31).
Love Is A Witness
• The Christian practice of charity is not a
means of foisting religion on others.
• A pure and generous love is oftentimes
the best witness to the God in whom we
believe.
• Sometimes we speak of God, sometimes
love alone speaks of God. (par. 31).
Who Performs Charity?
• The Church is God’s family and must be a
place where help is given and received.
• But Christians must also be prepared to
serve the needy who are outside the
Church’s boundaries (cf. par. 32).
• People at all levels of the Church are
responsible for charitable activity (cf. par.
32).
Giving of Ourselves
• We are required in practicing charity to
always do more than mere activity: “If I
give away all that I have…but do not have
love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor 13:3).
• Sharing personally and deeply with the
sufferings of others is a sharing of
ourselves with them, flowing from our
own encounter with Christ (par. 34).
Prayer
• We encounter Christ’s
love in prayer, and
prayer is essential if
we want to carry his
love to the needy.
Prayer is not a “waste
of time”, even if
situations appear to
call for action alone
(par. 36).
All The Great Saints
• St Martin of Tours gave half of his cloak to a poor man;
then Jesus himself appeared to him that night wearing
that cloak. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, St Camillus of
Lellis, St Vincent de Paul and others are “true bearers of
light within history” and models of social charity (par.
40).
Mary, Mother of the Lord
• Mary stands out among
•
all the saints. She served
others in true charity,
especially her cousin
Elizabeth during her
pregnancy (Luke 1:56).
She was totally “at home”
with the Word of God:
her thoughts were one
with God’s thoughts, her
will was one with God’s
will (par. 41).
Final Reflection
• “Love is possible, and we are able to
practice it because we are created in the
image of God. To experience love and in
this way to cause the light of God to enter
into the world—this is the invitation I
would like to extend with the present
Encyclical” (par. 39).
By Ruth Sheridan.
Copyright © 2006, Church Resources.
This document may be reproduced for non-commercial use provided
this notice is included.