Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Valentine's Day

So, Spring is on its way! Love's in the air ... or is it? What is
love? How do we express love? Where can love be found?

Love is the ultimate giving of oneself to another. It is infinite
compassion. It is total dedication. It is, in the terms of the
Catholic Church, the bond between the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. It is the force that brought Jesus to Earth, the force that
caused the Father to send His only Son, and the force that enabled the
Son to sacrifice Himself for all of Humanity.

We express our love for one another by acting always in their best
interests, but we must be careful to discover these interests
independently of ourselves. This means that we do not choose the best
thing for them that we want, but instead choose the best thing for
them, period. Ultimately, there is only one who knows this best good:
God Himself.

Love can be found in God, and in all in whom God dwells. Make
absolute certain that God dwells in you, at every moment of your life!
This means remaining free from sin. If you do have the misfortune to
fall into sin, fly to the Church and the blessed Sacraments. The Most
Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love, so reception of this Holy
Sacrament will surely bring much love into your life!

Live in Love always, live in Verus Amor!

In Christ, Through the Immaculata,
Paul Nguyen, MI

2 comments:

handmaidengirl said...

feedback to your Catholic section (awesome blog) on Theology of the Body - I wrote this before. It's like a litany, so a response can be made up afterwards such as "we invoke you Merciful Lord" or something like that
-by the communion of persons man becomes the image of God
-marriage is one and indissoluble
-creation is a fundamental and original gift
-the human person becomes a gift in the freedom of love
-man and woman are a gift for each other
-man enters the world as a subject of truth and love
-the mystery of woman is revealed in motherhood
-Christ appeals to man's heart
-lust is the fruit of the breach of the covenant with God
-lust limits the nuptial meaning of the body
-the heart is a battlefield between love and lust
-there is opposition in the human heart between the spirit and the body
-the sermon on the mount applies to the men of our day
-adultery is a breakdown of the personal covenant
-the meaning of adultery is transferred from the body to the heart
-concupiscence is a separation from the nuptial meaning of the body
-mutual attraction differs from lust
-concupiscence has depersonalizing effects
-the ethical sense must be established
-the power of redeeming completes the power of creating
-eros and ethos meet and bear fruit in the human heart
-Christ calls us to rediscover the living forms of the newman
-life in the Spirit is based on true freedom
-the virtue of purity is the expression and fruit of life according to the Spirit
-the pronouncements of the Magisterium apply Christ's words today
-art must not violate the right to privacy
-there are ethical responsibilities in art
-the living God continually renews the reality of life
-the resurrection perfects the person
-virginity or celibacy is for the sake of the Kingdom
-continence in this earthly life is a vocation
-the "superiority" of continence does not devalue marriage
-marriage and continence complement each other
-the value of continence is found in love
-celibacy is a particular response to the love of the Divine Spouse
-voluntary continence derives from a counsel, not from a command
-the unmarried person is anxious to please the Lord
-everyone has his own gift from God, suited to his vocation
-man's eternal destiny is the Kingdom of God, not the world
-marital love reflects God's love for his people
-reverence for Christ is the basis of the relationship between spouses
-Christ's redemptive love has a spousal nature
-the relationship of Christ to the Church is connected with the Tradition of the prophets
-the analogy of spousal love indicates the radical character of grace
-marriage is the central point of the sacrament of creation
-the loss of the original sacrament is restored with redemption in the marriage-sacrament
-marriage is an integral part of the new sacramental economy
-Christ opened marriage to the saving action of God
-the marriage sacrament is an effective sign of God's saving power
-the language of the body is the substratum and content of the sacramental sign of spousal communion
-the language of the body strengthens the marriage covenant
-man is called to overcome concupiscence!!!
-truth and freedom is the foundation of true love
-love is ever seeking and never satisfied
-love is victorious in the struggle between good and evil"

handmaidengirl said...

p.s. that was an adaption from the table of contents from The Theology of the Body by JP2. Basically, it covers all the topics in the book, and addresses them prayerfully - whether someone is about to read them or already read them. I suppose to make it sound right, one could start with "for an understanding that _____ , we implore you merciful Lord" - y'know? It's asking for the grace to comprehend that stuff and not go against it. I tried to explain more in the first post, but it told me it was too long, so i deleted the chunk of the intro. ok, well Verus Amor!