The teaching of Christ does not hinder true love, on the contrary,
only God knows how many of you there are, which not only at today’s Holy Mass but often in prayers you turn to God for your dearest ones. Your loved ones will often understand your love for them only after your grave. What you endure for the love of God for your loved ones!
A friend says to a friend: “Get a divorce! He drinks, he beats you, he embarrasses you, even the children will agree.” And she remarks with tears in her eyes: “I promised that I would not leave him in any adversity.” Another
example: Both students. When she informs him that she is expecting a child, she immediately adds that she will not keep the child. Surprised, he says: “No! Have we done something stupid and should we do it even more? No, our child must live!”
Another example: She visited her brother to talk him out of a bad acquaintance. Other examples: One is devoted to a friend who has fallen into the power of automatons. The second devotes a lot of time to a friend who got into the dubious company of a sect. Third, even though she has many responsibilities in her family, does not forget to help her sick neighbor every day. why are they doing that? What makes them do it? They don’t know the saying: What doesn’t burn you – doesn’t burn?
They have one thing in common. They understood and put Jesus’ words into practice: “And whoever gives one of these little ones a glass of cold water to drink as a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42).
A believing Christian realizes that if God asked a great thing of him, he would not refuse. The a more Christian knows the teachings of Jesus, the more he recognizes the greatness of God’s love in his life. True love becomes the driving force to more consistently realize communion with God in life. In the spirit of faith, the Christian realizes that every person has the right to love God, in a specific life.
The words of the Lord Jesus are often difficult and difficult to implement. And God does not bargain with man. God says in favor of man: “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:38). Jesus redeemed us without us, but he will not save us without us. We are not alone on the path of our salvation. Living in community requires caring for brothers and sisters. True love for God teaches us to love God. We are to love God above all else. Love for God must not be hindered by love for one’s neighbor and also for oneself. That is why Jesus says: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” And whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:37). When Jesus says it, we cannot wave our hands at it, but we are obliged to stand up to his words with all our hearts, even if we should lose everything else. God cannot say otherwise and want otherwise, that would be contradicting himself. Don’t be surprised that Jesus puts us in front of difficult and inevitable decisions in life. We should not be surprised that he makes these great demands on us. No man can take the place in our heart that belongs to God. And it is not enough to give the first and honorable place to God only in the theoretical field, but in everyday life. Only he can be our true and eternal love. In a life united with Christ and in love for him, we cannot avoid experiences marked by the cross and other sacrifices. It is indeed difficult to love Christ as those closest to you who have renounced him. How often do Christians forsake God for love of men! By doing so, they show that they love God less than their neighbors. Every sin we commit speaks of a greater love for our neighbor or for ourselves than for God. When we sin, we forget that whoever renounces his love will not get anything more, better, better or more beautiful, on the contrary, loses much more. It must be remembered that Christianity cannot be separated from the cross. From the moment when Jesus set out on the way of the cross, the cross became a part of our Christian life. We each have our own cross. Nature resists the cross. He wants to avoid the cross. She doesn’t want to go his way. A Christian cannot stand on the opposite side of the line.
However, Christ does not prevent anyone with his teaching from walking the path of joy. He wants us to embrace the supernatural path of love. Human love, if it is not based on God’s love, will not bring true joy and true happiness to a person. It can even rob you of eternal joy. When many do not realize that they are walking on the wrong path in their lives, every Christian must point out his brother or sister about his bad, wrong, and incomplete view of life’s path.
Love can become blind, and false, against which Jesus warns: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:37). How many parents wrongly love their children when they love their bodily and natural goods more than their souls. They do not want and cannot deny children things, forbid them, do not lead them to renunciation, self-denial, asceticism, work, to the true values of life. Superficial life of faith and an insufficient approach to spiritual duties by parents is a school of unbelief for children. If they ask children, just to learn something before receiving communion or confirmation, a few definitions, it happens that for children God is an inanimate abstraction. Faith requires realizing Christ’s words: “Let your speech be “yes-yes”, “no-no” (Mt 5:37). Unhealthy Christianity but also the social approach of parents to raising children is quickly manifested in the fact that demands are increasing, but obligations are decreasing. And what happens that parents do not expect from children is that children commit violence against their parents, even criminal activity.
We can observe similar situations with the husbands themselves. It cannot be called love that we can afford everything. Spouses must not forget that their promise also binds each other. And everything that does not agree with the teaching of God is against their love. Relegating God to second place sooner or later brings the breakdown of love and disappointment. True love is a medicine against egoism, selfishness, infidelity, hypocrisy, and separation. If natural love is to have true value, it needs to be based on supernatural values. Natural carnal and spiritual love need love for God. When God is respected in the first place, then natural love will also grow.
True love cannot do without looking at old age. Thus, those who are living the higher years of life should not forget their goal in life, and they should also be a role model for their successors. The young should honor the years, the gray hairs, and the life of the old, and in specific expressions towards the elders, they glorify God and obtain a blessing for their lives.
Every deed we do out of true love for our neighbors in the spirit of Christ’s teachings can be compared to a glass of cold water, for which a reward from God is promised. It is not only physical deeds but also spiritual ones.
It is appropriate that we learned to see, and hear, but also to react appropriately and quickly to things and events in life around us. Many are ashamed to come to the surface with their shortcomings of body and soul. A Catholic Christian cannot be satisfied only with the salvation of his soul.
It is right that we believers know how to talk about matters of the soul on various occasions. It is beautiful to hear that we pray for each other, and what is more, that our actions say that we value each other’s souls.
It is the praise of a father when a grown son says to him: “Father, I have never heard you say not only God’s name in vain but also the words of indecency.” It is the praise of a mother whose daughter says: “Mom, thank you for being an example of a Christian woman. She knew how to properly maintain well-being, peace, and love in the family.” It is praise for neighbors who can be said to be able to live in understanding, mutual respect, respect, and love. It is a praise that not even inheritance can divide siblings, quarrel, and destroy the love between them. There are other things to praise…
Why is it praising? Because they put God first. And their life becomes the reality of the Lord Jesus’ words: “He will not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42).
Already today, we pray to persevere in true love. Already today, now, let God be in the first and most honorable place in our life, in our relationships. Already today, now, we pray and ask not only for the dearest but also for distant relatives, and co-workers for the true love of Catholic Christians. What about the fact that maybe over our grave or in eternity they will know that we loved them more than they thought.
