Love Does Not Keep a Record of Wrongs

I often read St. Paul's description of love from 1 Corinthians 13 and ask the question, "How 
am I doing, Lord?" Sometimes well; too often not so well:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The Mystery of Life and Love

Little birdies in their nests agree. If they fight they fall out and get eaten by the cat!

Yesterday, Larry and I visited my sister in the nursing home in Frederick, MD. Traveling there and back is often an adventure, sometimes delightful, sometimes not so much. Last week our hour and forty minute trip home expanded to three and a half hours because of an accident on Interstate 81. Just saying those words, "Interstate 81," raises my blood pressure. We used our stop and start time to pray an extra rosary, especially for those in the accident, and to listen to an audio tape. It turned out one of the accident victims was the sister-in-law of friends. Fortunately, despite involvement with two tractor trailers, no one was seriously hurt, but the southbound highway was completely shut down for hours. 

Sunday Meditation: Practice Charity this Lent, the epitome of all virtues!

The sermon this morning was all about charity based on the Epistle, 1 Corinthians 13. Charity/love doesn't reside in the emotions, but is an act of the will and first involves our call to union with the source of all charity, God. Scripture tells us that God Himself is Charity/Love. 

"God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him."

So the virtue of charity calls us to know God better, to embrace His will and to love others for the sake of God who created them in His own image and likeness. We can only grow in that virtue by knowing God better through reading scripture, adding good spiritual reading, and prayer. Our Lady who practiced charity better than any other person who ever lived, except for her Son, can teach us if we draw closer to her. "Am I not here and am I not your mother?" she said to Juan Diego.

Every one of us, if we are blessed with a faith-filled mother, learn our prayers on her lap and at her knee. She holds our hands together and teaches us the sign of the cross. "Lord, be in my mind, be in my heart, and give me strong shoulders to carry the cross." What a blessing! But even those who never had that blessing have our holy mother to teach us now.

Sunday Meditation: Charity is an Act of the Will

Feed the hungry! Doing the ordinary duties of our state in life is an act of charity.

The epistle today in the Traditional Latin Mass is St. Paul's treatise on love, i.e., the divine virtue of charity. Many people associate love/charity with emotion. It is anything but! Charity is an act of the will, a decision made to treat others and ourselves according to God's plan for us. 

Really, Some People Just Can't Read!

I read a blog post the other day that raked Msgr. Charles Pope over the coals because of an article titled "Kindness is not the same as love." After I read Msgr. Pope's article I wondered if the blogger knew how to read. The monsignor was making the point that "Love should not be reduced to mere kindness." It's much more. He specifically said that "Kindness is certainly a good thing and has an important place in our relationships" and "Kindness is an aspect of love." But, Monsignor Pope goes on, "it is necessarily distinct from it, for it sometimes happens that love, which wills what is best for the other, may deem it best not to remove all suffering." And then he writes about parents disciplining their children, etc.

Topsy and Tuptim discuss Chapter Five at the top of the bleachers

Chapter Five Paragraphs 165 - 198

Lord, please make Topsy and Tuptim stop it.

In order to work off their frustration, Topsy and Tuptim meet at the track after their Amoris Laetitia class with Fr. Jimmy and Sr. Joanie. They bring water to drink while walking and also a thermos of coffee to share while sitting in the bleachers (they like to sit at the very top) after their exercise. At the top of the bleachers they are free to discuss Chapter Five where no one can overhear them.

Tuptim: Whew! That was great! (Pouring coffee in styrofoam cups and offering one to Topsy)

Topsy: (Taking it and frowning.) No cream?

Tuptim: Oh, don't be a whiner....(Laughs and throws a napkin at her) I needed that workout after listening to Sr. Joanie earlier. She's upset that the Pope continually referred to "mother and father", "maternal and paternal" and "male and female" instead of also including two parents of the same sex.

Thought for the Day from St. Therese of Lisieux

"Not a single soul falls into Hell that has not torn itself out of my arms."

Wow! Think of that. God is holding on to you like superglue. Only you can make the decision to tear yourself away from him. But like paper attached to a rock with superglue, it's the paper that will suffer in the tearing away. 

Just think of what life would be like if we would just rest in God's arms, look up into the eyes of the Holy Face of Jesus, and listened to His voice. His love is beyond our imagination. Imagine the moment in your life when you have felt most loved and it will be like comparing a tiny drop of water to the vastness of the ocean.

I'm praying today for those who feel abandoned and unloved that Jesus will reveal Himself to them in a special way -- through the kindness of a stranger, the companionship of a friend, the embrace of a family member, or a very obvious blessing. "Come, Lord Jesus."