The Message
Lesson Six — Love
In this cenacle, we will examine love.
We can begin with a moral and theological certainty: We know that God is love. "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn 4:16).
In this vein, it was both significant and appropriate that Pope Benedict XVI would choose love as the topic for his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.
In his encyclical, Pope Benedict makes a distinction between two kinds of love, eros and agape. Eros love is a passionate and covetous type of love. Agape is more of the self-sacrificing and giving type that we associate with Christianity.
The Holy Father writes how most cultures, notably the Greeks, thought of eros "principally as a kind of intoxication, the overpowering of reason by a 'divine madness' which tears man away from his finite existence and enables him ... to experience supreme happiness." The Holy Father points out that eros found religious expression "in the fertility cults, part of which was the 'sacred' prostitution [that] flourished in many temples. Eros was thus celebrated as divine power, as fellowship with the divine" (4).
This differs from agape, which, Pope Benedict notes, is "the typical expression for the biblical notion of love." The Holy Father writes that this form of love "involves a real discovery of the other, moving beyond the selfish character that prevailed earlier. Love now becomes concern and care for the other. No longer is it self-seeking, a sinking in the intoxication of happiness; instead it seeks the good of the beloved: it becomes renunciation and it is ready, and even willing, for sacrifice (6).
As Christians we need both kinds of love. We must have a passionate and desirous love for God, but we must also have the self-sacrificing and forgiving love for our neighbor. This conjures up imagery of the cross. The vertical element, moving from low to high, is our relationship and love of God, while the horizontal component, which spans wide like a vista, is our encompassing love of neighbor. We know that the greatest commandment is to love God above all things and then to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
A real-life example will help. Cenacle member Siaosi discussed how he developed a love for God by visiting our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He made daily short visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and over time, he said that "he fell in love" with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He began to take Jesus a rose daily, and on certain occasions even a full bouquet. He looked forward to his visits and had a thirst for our Lord in a deeper way. And the more he began to understand his faith, the more he fell in love with our Lord and His Church.
As apostles of mercy, we are to radiate that same love of God to our loved ones, work associates, and neighbors. We are to live the message of God's love and mercy.
Questions for Discussion:
The primary goal of show two is to introduce the concept of love and how it relates to the message of Divine Mercy and our own personal walk. To love God is the greatest commandment, and we must understand how love of God must direct all our actions.
1. Who did God say that He was to St. Faustina? (see Diary of St. Faustina, 1273).
2. What did God show St. Faustina about love of God? (see Diary of St. Faustina, 94, 293, 1064).
3. Compare and contrast eros and agape love. How are they the same? How are they different? Is one "superior" to the other?
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