What does Love Consist of?
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Lord is kind and merciful.”Ps. 103
Many claim to love and believe they know how to do it, but it could happen they only love themselves. When they say they love someone else, it is often because they feel good with that person or be cause they have a personal interest in them. However, that is not true love, for love is not selfish nor does it seek its own interest, as the Word of God says (1 Corinthians 13).
Loving is very different from wanting. What I “want” comes from my ego—it is for my own well-being, for personal gain, for pleasure. True love, however, is not of the flesh but of the spirit and soul. The ego tends to be possessive and imposing, unwilling to accept distance or anything contrary to its desires, even the will of the other person. Selfishness may believe it loves while it actually uses others, disregarding their well-being. But love is not selfish.
This is the nature of the ego—it seeks only its own will and disregards others. It does not understand sacrifice for love because it seeks to impose itself. Love, on the other hand, can be defined as seeking and ensuring the well-being of another, even at the cost of personal sacrifice and denial of one’s own desires, preferences, and interests. It rises above ego, striving for what is best for the person who is loved.
Do you know how to love? Love means not overriding another person’s will but respecting them and the boundaries they set, as long as those boundaries are reasonable and not harmful to them. We must be committed to seeking their true good, investing effort and any sacrifice necessary. Their true good may not always align with what they want, but God’s will is always our ultimate good, and that is what we must seek for ourselves and for others.
“For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments.”1 John 5:3
Of course, affectionate feelings make true love easier, but they are not essential. You can love everyone, and you must, as Jesus asks us to do. Loving as Jesus loves-as His new commandment at the Last Supper demands-means loving everyone, just as He loves us despite our sins. Love is an act of will; it means seeking the good of others, whether or not they are sympathetic to us. To be children of God, as Jesus emphasizes:
“Love your enemies, do good, and lend without expecting anything in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”Luke 6:35
Weekly Readings
Sunday: 1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23/1 Cor 15:45-49/ Lk 6:27-38
Monday: Sir 1:1-10/Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5/Mk 9:14-29
Tuesday: Sir 2:1-11/Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40/Mk 9:30-37
Wednesday: Sir 4:11-19/Ps 119:165, 168, 171, 172, 174, 175/Mk 9:38-40
Thursday: Sir 5:1-8/Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6/Mk 9:41-50
Friday: Sir 6:5-17/Ps 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34, 35/Mk 10:1-12
Saturday: Sir 17:1-15/Ps 103:13-14, 15-16, 17-18/ Mk 10:13-16
Next Sunday: Sir 27:4-7/Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 (see 2a)/ 1 Cor 15:54-58/Lk 6:39-45
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thursday: St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Next Sunday: 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
