Late Stuff: Lent Day 24, On Proper Love

Something happened and this post disappeared, so it’s a repost, or something like that.

Collect: Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us.

Friday’s Mass Gospel was on the Great Commandments.

Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

All 613 commandments are based around these two rules. If they are on love, why are there so many rules, but it is all summarized in two rules?

Because proper love is hard.

It isn’t a mere “I love you” that we can say whimsically. Proper love is selflessly giving ourselves for the sake of others and God. It is that higher purpose that we seek for ourselves.

All of these rules may seem like restrictions, but they are in reality, callings to love more properly. They are way for us to love each other not for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of others and God. It is a true love that does not hurt, but rather makes us more human.

Which is why it is hard.

We can love others, but if we do not love God we are missing the higher calling of loving more fully. We can love God, but if we do not love others, then we are missing the call to love all that were made in God’s image.

Hence, truly loving God requires truly loving others. And truly loving others also requires loving God.

Proper love is hard.

But we are called to strive for it. We are called to become more human. We are called to strive to what we were before sin.

May we all love more fully.

Have a blessed Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent: Laetare Sunday

Introit: Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis,et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae

Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Collect: O God, who through your Word reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come.

Rejoice, O Jerusalem! We are almost there. Lent is almost over. The wait and eager patience is almost at an end. Therefore, let us rejoice!

For God sent his only son to die for us.

The Divine Mercy is comprehensible. Let us stick with that and just rejoice in the mercy.

Anyway, I’m in Tampa now for a service trip with the CSA. Sleep deprivation is fun, but we made it. Looking forward to all the service we have planned for the week.

Pray for us and our service, and pray for the ones we will be serving.

Have a blessed Lent.

Late Stuff: Lent Day 25

Collect: Rejoicing in this annual celebration of our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries, we may be gladdened by their full effects.

Well, Saturday was a fun. I woke up at noon, had brunch, then played Attila. For dinner, I went out with my brother and sister to our favorite Japanese restaurant, which then turned into a Korean restaurant, but had the same people and menu. At least the sushi was good.

After dinner, it was more video games. Also, I packed for my spring break trip, which is where I’m at right now.

I didn’t sleep at all, but I made it. That’s for the Sunday post.