THE DEPTH AND INTENSITY OF LOVE
Jesus appreciates human life in its joys and sorrows, from the most
critical ones, like the death of the little girl, to the less serious ones,
like the illness of the woman.
We can never fully
appreciate the depth and intensity of God's love for us. We are limited because
we necessarily compare His love with what we already know about love from human
experience. Our experience can never match the reality of God's love for us,
for He is a lavish giver!
While the conjugal
love of spouses in matrimony can and should be deep and intense, we know that
even the most ideal human marriage is imperfect. It is only in God's love that
there is no imperfection.
I would recommend for
your reading pleasure, if you haven't already reflected upon it: Pope Emeritus
Benedict's first Encyclical - Deus Caritas Est, (God is Love) given to the
world on December 25th, 2005. It talks about the different levels of love, from
the "Eros" that is basically self-centered and pleasure orientated to
the "Agape" that is other-focused and self-sacrificing, reflecting
God's own love and being the love that brings us unity.
We observe God's
love through the actions of Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh. Today in the
Gospel we see Jesus' concern for the synagogue leader whose daughter had died.
In contrast, the woman with the hemorrhage was really an "un-known in
society" as compared with the leader of the synagogue. And yet Jesus showed
just as much concern for her and was unwilling to ignore her. Jesus loves all
people, from CEO's or to those who are cleaning toilets. Jesus appreciates
human life in its joys and sorrows, from the most critical ones, like the death
of the little girl, to the less serious ones, like the illness of the woman.
In the Responsorial
Psalm we acclaim: In you, my God, I place my trust. I give you all my love.
Jean Vanier the
founder of l'Arche - International, wrote this, "In the heart of each one
of us we have this longing for something over and above our immediate reality.
This longing for peace is very deep in the hearts of each one of us. We love
truth. We want truth. We want justice. It is something that unites all human
beings and can bring us together. This access to God, this possibility of being
in relationship to God, links us all together. All things were made through
God. The Word became flesh. God is forgiveness. God is mercy; we don't have to
be frightened of God. God knows our brokenness, God knows how vulnerable we
are, and God knows also the fear and violence that are within us. But He is
inviting us to go deeper ... Jesus [is with you]."
Try to see a little
more deeply into the infinite love of an infinite God ...