James Cardinal Gibbons
If I were asked what is the underlying principle of the Gospel, what is the essential characteristic of the religion of Jesus Christ, I would say: it is love. Group together the Ten Commandments, the evangelical precepts, and the exhortations of the Apostles. Group together all the admonitions of the Old and the New Testament. Analyze them all, and they are all summarized in one short word, and that word is love. “Love,” says the Apostle, “is the fulfilling of the law,” that is to say, the whole law is fulfilled by love. Love, therefore is the shortest, safest and surest road to righteousness here, and to salvation hereafter. When our Lord was asked to epitomize the Decalogue, He answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with your whole mind…. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these commandments hang the law and the prophets.”
Love then is the essence of Christianity, in contradistinction to all other religions.
The Hebrew people, though they were God’s chosen race, lived under the law of fear. They were restrained from vice more by fear of the punishment than by the hope of reward. They were accustomed to address God by the title of King, Ruler, Judge, Lord and Master; but in the whole range of the Old Testament they very rarely presumed to call God by the endearing name of Father. Not so you, says St. Paul, addressing the Christians of his time: “It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Rom. 8:16-17).
I do not deny that the Hebrews were commanded to love God, but fear was the predominant feature of their worship. I do not deny that we are commanded to fear God, but love, with us Christians, is the leading motive to draw us to God.
The Pagan or Heathen worshipped his gods. He feared them and prostrated himself before them. He offered sacrifice to them in order to propitiate them. He was too far removed for them to entertain and sentiment of affection for them; for love presupposes some equality between the lover and the person beloved.
Our Savior God discovered a basis of equality between Himself and man. He said: I will descend from heaven to earth. I will manifest Myself to the world. I will clothe Myself with humanity. I will become man. I will become bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. I will take upon Myself his sorrow and infirmities. I will become his brother, friend and companion. I will love him so ardently that I shall compel him to love Me. Oh! The wonderful condescension of God, that He should command us to love Him, and is angry with us if we do not love Him. That God should command us to fear Him, is not to be marveled at. But that He should command us to love Him, is calculated to win our wondering admiration. This is the Incarnation in a nutshell.
1st. The love of Christ is extended to all mankind without distinction or race, color, or condition of life: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” His arms are wide-stretched on the cross, to indicate that His love is worldwide, universal, and all embracing.
2nd. But Christ not only loves all men collectively. He loves each one of you in particular. II have always admired the saying of the Apostle: I live in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.” He does not say: The Son of God loved the human family. He does not say: He loved the Hebrew people. He does not say: Christ loved the Tribe of Benjamin of whom I am descended. But he says Christ loved me individually. You all can say the same. Christ loves each of you as ardently as if you alone existed in the world,—just as the sun’s rays shine as brightly upon you, as if no other being were on the face of the earth.
3rd. Our Savior, like ourselves, had his particular friendships. There are some members of the human family for whom He showed a special predilection. He had a singular affection for children because of their innocence, simplicity, guilelessness of heart. You may observe how frequently His tender regard for children is manifested in the Gospels. When mothers brought their babes in their arms to be blessed by Him, He rebuked His Apostles for trying to repel them. He embraced these infants and said: “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.”
4th. He loved not only innocent youth, but for your comfort and mine, He loved also repentant sinners. We all know how tender was His compassion for the erring Magdalene.
He loved her because of her humility of heart, her spirit of repentance, and her profound gratitude. “I say to you,” He declares, “that many sins are forgiven her because she has loved much.” Oh! How great is the power of repentance since it transforms a slave of Satan and a moral leper into an elect of God!
5th. Christ had also a particular affection for Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, because of their devotion to Him, and their hospitality towards Him. When Jesus knew of the death of Lazarus, He paid a visit of condolence to his sisters. Martha on meeting Him, exclaimed: “I you had been present, my brother would not have died.” She did not yet know that Christ’s influence is not diminished by His bodily absence. He was brought to the grave where Lazarus had lain for four days. We are told that Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. We read not that he ever laughed. Yet those tears of Jesus have brought more joy and solace to the human heart than all the mirth- provoking books that ever were written. Jesus wept, to show that He had not only a divine Personality, but also a human heart, full of human sympathy for the suffering and sorrowing, that He came to sanctify sorrow and to be the great Consoler to the disconsolate. He wept, to prove to us that those who have drunk of the cup of sorrow, and have sounded the depths of human misery, can most adequately condole with the sufferings of others. He wished also to teach us that a tender sensibility is not only compatible with greatness of soul but is essential to sturdy manhood.
When the Jews observed Christ weeping, they exclaimed: behold how He loved Lazarus! If we are to judge of the love of Jesus for Lazarus by the few tears he shed at his grave, how are we to estimate His love for us by the tears of blood He shed for us during His passion.
Christ, who foresaw all things, knew full well that the raising up of Lazarus would whet the hatred of His enemies and hasten His own death. As soon as the High Priests and Pharisees had heard of the miracle, they became alarmed at the increasing influence of our Lord among the people, and from that very day, they designed to put Him to death. Let us learn a lesson from Christ’s heroic conduct. Let us never hesitate to perform a good deed, even though we foresee that it will bring us no earthly recompense but will rather involve us in suffering and humiliation.
6th. Jesus had a very special attachment to His Apostles who were the companions of His journeys, the witnesses of His miracles and good works, the destined heralds of His Gospel. He called them by the endearing name of friends: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). He addressed them also with the affectionate title of brothers. When our Lord was apprehended in the garden and was in the hands of His enemies, when, humanly speaking, He had most need of the loyalty and support of His disciples they shamefully fled from Him to save their own lives. Yet, after his resurrection, what is the first message he sends them? Does He upbraid them for their treachery, their denial, their disloyalty and abandonment of Him? Not a word of reproach does he utter. But He sends them a message of love: Go and tell my brethren: I ascend to their Father and to My Father, to their God and My God.” How tenacious is our memory of real or fancied injuries, how treacherous it is in regard to favors received! Let us learn a lesson of forgiveness from our Master. It is far more noble to pardon than to be avenged. It is the part of the animal man to retaliate an injury. It is only God and the sons of God that have the magnanimity to forgive.
7th. But Christ’s special predilection was reserved for John the Evangelist. He is called by excellence “the disciple whom Jesus loved;” not that He loved the other Apostles less, but that He loved John more. John was particularly cherished by his Master because of his amiable disposition, his candor of soul, and the purity of his virgin heart. “He that has cleanliness of heart shall have the King for his friend.”
The love of Jesus for John was heartily reciprocated by His disciple. There are three different circumstances in which the intense affection of the disciple for his Master was made manifest. At the Last Supper, John had the privilege of sitting next to Jesus, and of reclining on His breast, where he drank draughts of love from its divine fountain.
During the supper, our Savior predicted that one of His disciples at table would betray Him. The Apostles were agitated and distressed by this announcement, and they began secretly to debate among themselves which of them might be the traitor. Peter whispered to John, as being the most familiar with Christ, requesting him to ask our Lord who would betray Him. John’s affection made him familiar with his Master, and his familiarity gave him freedom of speech. Let us love our Lord like John, and our love will prompt us to speak to Him with freedom of speech in prayer. Let us also imitate the beloved disciples by reclining in spirit on the breast of Jesus, in devoutly receiving the Holy Communion.
John also manifested his love for his Master when he stood by the cross at the crucifixion with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He was the only Apostle that witnessed the crucifixion. He showed a deeper affection for Christ in witnessing His death, and sharing in the ignominy of the cross, that when he reclined on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper.
Does not the faithful wife exhibit a greater devotion and loyalty to her husband by attending him through a lingering illness, than she would manifest by sharing in his social and political triumphs?
“Jesus” says Thomas à Kempis, “has many followers of His Heavenly Kingdom, but few bearers of His cross.” We would all like to contemplate with John the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, and to have some of the heavenly rays descend upon ourselves; but we would shrink from standing by Him at His cross on Mount Calvary, and from sharing in the humiliation of His death. We would like to lean with John on His breast, at the Last Supper, but we would not wish to drink with Him of the chalice of His sufferings.
Let us remember that there can be little or no charity without some self-sacrifice. Self-love is the enemy of benevolence. If there were more self-denial, there would be more love. Seneca says: “Take two words from the lexicon, and there will be perfect accord among men, and no more war. These words are mine and thine.” Kindness and generosity to others generally involve some self-restraint on our part. You have to put yourself to some inconvenience in order to direct an inquirer to the street he is looking for, or to accommodate him to a seat beside you in church. However, life itself is made up of these little amenities and acts of courtesy and kindness.
John also manifested a genuine love for Jesus by adopting Mary as his mother and taking her to his home. We cannot show a more practical love for Christ than by loving those whom He loved, and for caring for those whom He has commended to our charity. Imitate the beloved disciple by casting around you the searching eye of benevolence and sheltering some disconsolate widow who does not make a profession of beggary, and who is ashamed to obtrude herself before the public gaze. Bring sunshine to her home and joy to her heart. Fulfill towards her the sublime mission of God’s almoner and steward, and the rays of joy you will bring her will descend upon yourself. You will enjoy inestimable peace that springs from the unconsciousness of doing good to others. Love your Lord with a filial love as your Father. Love Him with a grateful love as your benefactor. Love Him like Magdalene and Peter with a repentant love, as having washed away your sins in His blood. Love Him with a compassionate love, as having suffered and died that you might live. Say with the Apostle: “I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
“Love is the Fulfilling of the Law.”
James Cardinal Gibbons
If I were asked what is the underlying principle of the Gospel, what is the essential characteristic of the religion of Jesus Christ, I would say: it is love. Group together the Ten Commandments, the evangelical precepts, and the exhortations of the Apostles. Group together all the admonitions of the Old and the New Testament. Analyze them all, and they are all summarized in one short word, and that word is love. “Love,” says the Apostle, “is the fulfilling of the law,” that is to say, the whole law is fulfilled by love. Love, therefore is the shortest, safest and surest road to righteousness here, and to salvation hereafter. When our Lord was asked to epitomize the Decalogue, He answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with your whole mind…. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these commandments hang the law and the prophets.”
Love then is the essence of Christianity, in contradistinction to all other religions.
The Hebrew people, though they were God’s chosen race, lived under the law of fear. They were restrained from vice more by fear of the punishment than by the hope of reward. They were accustomed to address God by the title of King, Ruler, Judge, Lord and Master; but in the whole range of the Old Testament they very rarely presumed to call God by the endearing name of Father. Not so you, says St. Paul, addressing the Christians of his time: “It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Rom. 8:16-17).
I do not deny that the Hebrews were commanded to love God, but fear was the predominant feature of their worship. I do not deny that we are commanded to fear God, but love, with us Christians, is the leading motive to draw us to God.
The Pagan or Heathen worshipped his gods. He feared them and prostrated himself before them. He offered sacrifice to them in order to propitiate them. He was too far removed for them to entertain and sentiment of affection for them; for love presupposes some equality between the lover and the person beloved.
Our Savior God discovered a basis of equality between Himself and man. He said: I will descend from heaven to earth. I will manifest Myself to the world. I will clothe Myself with humanity. I will become man. I will become bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. I will take upon Myself his sorrow and infirmities. I will become his brother, friend and companion. I will love him so ardently that I shall compel him to love Me. Oh! The wonderful condescension of God, that He should command us to love Him, and is angry with us if we do not love Him. That God should command us to fear Him, is not to be marveled at. But that He should command us to love Him, is calculated to win our wondering admiration. This is the Incarnation in a nutshell.
1st. The love of Christ is extended to all mankind without distinction or race, color, or condition of life: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” His arms are wide-stretched on the cross, to indicate that His love is worldwide, universal, and all embracing.
2nd. But Christ not only loves all men collectively. He loves each one of you in particular. II have always admired the saying of the Apostle: I live in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.” He does not say: The Son of God loved the human family. He does not say: He loved the Hebrew people. He does not say: Christ loved the Tribe of Benjamin of whom I am descended. But he says Christ loved me individually. You all can say the same. Christ loves each of you as ardently as if you alone existed in the world,—just as the sun’s rays shine as brightly upon you, as if no other being were on the face of the earth.
3rd. Our Savior, like ourselves, had his particular friendships. There are some members of the human family for whom He showed a special predilection. He had a singular affection for children because of their innocence, simplicity, guilelessness of heart. You may observe how frequently His tender regard for children is manifested in the Gospels. When mothers brought their babes in their arms to be blessed by Him, He rebuked His Apostles for trying to repel them. He embraced these infants and said: “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.”
4th. He loved not only innocent youth, but for your comfort and mine, He loved also repentant sinners. We all know how tender was His compassion for the erring Magdalene.
He loved her because of her humility of heart, her spirit of repentance, and her profound gratitude. “I say to you,” He declares, “that many sins are forgiven her because she has loved much.” Oh! How great is the power of repentance since it transforms a slave of Satan and a moral leper into an elect of God!
5th. Christ had also a particular affection for Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, because of their devotion to Him, and their hospitality towards Him. When Jesus knew of the death of Lazarus, He paid a visit of condolence to his sisters. Martha on meeting Him, exclaimed: “I you had been present, my brother would not have died.” She did not yet know that Christ’s influence is not diminished by His bodily absence. He was brought to the grave where Lazarus had lain for four days. We are told that Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. We read not that he ever laughed. Yet those tears of Jesus have brought more joy and solace to the human heart than all the mirth- provoking books that ever were written. Jesus wept, to show that He had not only a divine Personality, but also a human heart, full of human sympathy for the suffering and sorrowing, that He came to sanctify sorrow and to be the great Consoler to the disconsolate. He wept, to prove to us that those who have drunk of the cup of sorrow, and have sounded the depths of human misery, can most adequately condole with the sufferings of others. He wished also to teach us that a tender sensibility is not only compatible with greatness of soul but is essential to sturdy manhood.
When the Jews observed Christ weeping, they exclaimed: behold how He loved Lazarus! If we are to judge of the love of Jesus for Lazarus by the few tears he shed at his grave, how are we to estimate His love for us by the tears of blood He shed for us during His passion.
Christ, who foresaw all things, knew full well that the raising up of Lazarus would whet the hatred of His enemies and hasten His own death. As soon as the High Priests and Pharisees had heard of the miracle, they became alarmed at the increasing influence of our Lord among the people, and from that very day, they designed to put Him to death. Let us learn a lesson from Christ’s heroic conduct. Let us never hesitate to perform a good deed, even though we foresee that it will bring us no earthly recompense but will rather involve us in suffering and humiliation.
6th. Jesus had a very special attachment to His Apostles who were the companions of His journeys, the witnesses of His miracles and good works, the destined heralds of His Gospel. He called them by the endearing name of friends: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). He addressed them also with the affectionate title of brothers. When our Lord was apprehended in the garden and was in the hands of His enemies, when, humanly speaking, He had most need of the loyalty and support of His disciples they shamefully fled from Him to save their own lives. Yet, after his resurrection, what is the first message he sends them? Does He upbraid them for their treachery, their denial, their disloyalty and abandonment of Him? Not a word of reproach does he utter. But He sends them a message of love: Go and tell my brethren: I ascend to their Father and to My Father, to their God and My God.” How tenacious is our memory of real or fancied injuries, how treacherous it is in regard to favors received! Let us learn a lesson of forgiveness from our Master. It is far more noble to pardon than to be avenged. It is the part of the animal man to retaliate an injury. It is only God and the sons of God that have the magnanimity to forgive.
7th. But Christ’s special predilection was reserved for John the Evangelist. He is called by excellence “the disciple whom Jesus loved;” not that He loved the other Apostles less, but that He loved John more. John was particularly cherished by his Master because of his amiable disposition, his candor of soul, and the purity of his virgin heart. “He that has cleanliness of heart shall have the King for his friend.”
The love of Jesus for John was heartily reciprocated by His disciple. There are three different circumstances in which the intense affection of the disciple for his Master was made manifest. At the Last Supper, John had the privilege of sitting next to Jesus, and of reclining on His breast, where he drank draughts of love from its divine fountain.
During the supper, our Savior predicted that one of His disciples at table would betray Him. The Apostles were agitated and distressed by this announcement, and they began secretly to debate among themselves which of them might be the traitor. Peter whispered to John, as being the most familiar with Christ, requesting him to ask our Lord who would betray Him. John’s affection made him familiar with his Master, and his familiarity gave him freedom of speech. Let us love our Lord like John, and our love will prompt us to speak to Him with freedom of speech in prayer. Let us also imitate the beloved disciples by reclining in spirit on the breast of Jesus, in devoutly receiving the Holy Communion.
John also manifested his love for his Master when he stood by the cross at the crucifixion with Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He was the only Apostle that witnessed the crucifixion. He showed a deeper affection for Christ in witnessing His death, and sharing in the ignominy of the cross, that when he reclined on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper.
Does not the faithful wife exhibit a greater devotion and loyalty to her husband by attending him through a lingering illness, than she would manifest by sharing in his social and political triumphs?
“Jesus” says Thomas à Kempis, “has many followers of His Heavenly Kingdom, but few bearers of His cross.” We would all like to contemplate with John the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, and to have some of the heavenly rays descend upon ourselves; but we would shrink from standing by Him at His cross on Mount Calvary, and from sharing in the humiliation of His death. We would like to lean with John on His breast, at the Last Supper, but we would not wish to drink with Him of the chalice of His sufferings.
Let us remember that there can be little or no charity without some self-sacrifice. Self-love is the enemy of benevolence. If there were more self-denial, there would be more love. Seneca says: “Take two words from the lexicon, and there will be perfect accord among men, and no more war. These words are mine and thine.” Kindness and generosity to others generally involve some self-restraint on our part. You have to put yourself to some inconvenience in order to direct an inquirer to the street he is looking for, or to accommodate him to a seat beside you in church. However, life itself is made up of these little amenities and acts of courtesy and kindness.
John also manifested a genuine love for Jesus by adopting Mary as his mother and taking her to his home. We cannot show a more practical love for Christ than by loving those whom He loved, and for caring for those whom He has commended to our charity. Imitate the beloved disciple by casting around you the searching eye of benevolence and sheltering some disconsolate widow who does not make a profession of beggary, and who is ashamed to obtrude herself before the public gaze. Bring sunshine to her home and joy to her heart. Fulfill towards her the sublime mission of God’s almoner and steward, and the rays of joy you will bring her will descend upon yourself. You will enjoy inestimable peace that springs from the unconsciousness of doing good to others. Love your Lord with a filial love as your Father. Love Him with a grateful love as your benefactor. Love Him like Magdalene and Peter with a repentant love, as having washed away your sins in His blood. Love Him with a compassionate love, as having suffered and died that you might live. Say with the Apostle: “I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
New Post
The Journalist’s First Loyalty: Truth in the Service of the Human Person
Question: What is the Catholic Church’s teaching on pornography?
Question: Which religions in the world advocate or support Lesbian and/or Homosexual activity?
Democratic Socialism in the United States
The Jewish Denominations
“A Plea for Intolerance”: A Catholic Moral Reflection on Truth, Error, and the Crisis of Moral Indifference
Select A Catagory