Universal laws rule the world and our lives but few there are that will come to study and grasp these laws. Hence the disorder that enters into the life of the individual, the family and our society. This week with the exposition and procession of the Blessed Sacrament we are fortunate to meditate upon the basic law of love. One never passes to a higher expression of love without the pain of losing the previous expression. Because this is a universal law it applies to every person and every situation.
Physical application: A young man sees and hears a violin played and it so enthuses him that he seeks to purchase the instrument and create sweet music. Once he buys the instrument the reality of learning to play washes away the first love and he begins to practice, learns how to read music, forces his fingers to do their duty. If he does not give up then he will ascend to that new level of love through the composition of his own music. As you can see he no longer longs for the instrument per se but he longs to make his love flesh through the music that he can now play.
Intellectual application: A young lady from her very youth is guided to aid the sick at the local hospital. She longs to know more about the medical field in order to express the love in her heart for the poor invalids that she helps daily. She saves her funds and finally enters into college in order to become a doctor. Her love endures hours of study, hours of practical doctoring and exam after exam. The result is a knowledgeable doctor who is confident in her ability to reduce suffering mankind.
Spiritual Application: We are all called to a vocation that leads us to sanctity. The Church possesses the sacrament of holy orders and matrimony. In both the goal is to bring love to its fulfillment. In the case of marriage the two souls begin by recognizing an attraction for each other that may come to a moment in which the sacrament unites them. At first the husband is the greatest man alive and the wife is so beautiful. They bask in the glory of their life together. The puppy love wishes that the husband will become more and more like his wife while that husband prays that his wife will never change. They are forgetting the natural law of love which will cause the husband and wife to expose their weak sides. When the negative is seen, then the reactions begin to ask “Was I cheated.” No, you are challenged to see in the unlovable qualities of your spouse the Person of the Crucified. His cross will draw the two souls into a deeper level of love through the pain of accepting the wife as she really is and the husband as he really is.
This spiritual surge which leads the soul to love one’s spouse with open eyes is prepared for us in the holy mass which gives us the great expression of God’s love for negative man. The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord prepares us to achieve the work of transformation in Christ. Every vocations calls for this action upon our souls. Consider that our Lord proclaimed that He lives in the Father and we must live in Him. This is eternal life. This is eternal love. This is the will of God for us today. Do not remain in the shallows of life but rise to the level of sanctified love.
May the fathers among you lead you to the fullness of divine love.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Fr. Richard Voigt, S.D.B.
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