Ruled by Love

In his homily this week, Fr. Dom said we are reminded of the matters of the heart again-and this time it is Reverence -obeying God’s command because of Love. What is the state of your heart? asked Fr. Dom. Is it happy, at peace or restless and hurting? He said Jesus promises us Love if we follow his commands.

Jesus tells us that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. … whoever loves me will be loved by my Father and I shall love him” Jn 14: 15-21

We are asked to obey the commands not out of fear but rather out of Love. Fulton Sheen reminds us that Love is not in the feeling but in the will and as such it is subject to command. Liking is an emotion that we do not have control of, but Love is a decision. As in courtship, he explains there are no rules but the “lover always seeks to fulfill the will of the beloved”.

He says” true obedience springs from love not from force…..”. “……….for instance we obey the laws of the body, we keep it in health; If we obey the laws of mind, we keep it learned. Spiritual being has its prizes too, as Our Lord said: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments…”.

“The respect that one has for the rule flows naturally from the respect that one has for the person who gave it.” St Thomas Aquinas. Thus we follow the command because we love Jesus and not because we fear Hell.

St Clare of Assissi tells us we become what we love.

“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.”

Mother’s Day Celebration