It was not because you are the largest of nations that the Lord set His heart on you and chose you…It was because the Lord loved you and because of His fidelity. (Deuteronomy 7:7-8)
God does not love us because we are great. God does not love us because we are successful. He does not love us because we are clever, or nice, or athletic, or talented, or generous, or hard-working. We can lay no claim to His love; we do not deserve it; we have not earned it.
But if God does not love us because we deserve it, if He does not love us because we are so wonderful, then why does He love us?
We know, of course, that He does love us. All it takes is looking at a crucifix for one moment to remember that He loves us, and how He loves us.
Why? Why did He become man and die on the Cross for us? Why did He allow His heart to be pierced by the soldier’s lance, so that every last drop of His Precious Blood flowed out?
God loves us because God is love (I John 4:16). His love is the origin of all things.
But when we say, ‘God is love,’ let’s think carefully about precisely what we are saying. It is not that we are born knowing what true love is, and then we see Jesus and expertly identify a good example of true love. It is not like we are the teacher, and He is the student, and we give Him the grade of A+ for loving us.
No—it’s the other way around. We have no idea what true love is until we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. We can say that God is love because God has taught us what love is.
And He does more than teach us. He also gives us the grace and strength to love like Him, to return love for love. He has loved us first. Let’s love Him back with all we have.
Father Mark White Blog 
Fr. Mark,
For humans:
LIKE = BECAUSE
LOVE = IN SPITE OF
For God:
LOVE = LOVE (or, if you prefer, “What part of love Me, love one another, don’t you understand?”).
Human love defies Greek logic; Jesus Christ defies Greek logic (just ask Paul, “and him crucified”); God is, well, just God! [pun intended]
So, what’s a poor human to do? Just, go with it! Most of us have been blessed by the love of another. Many of us awake too late (say, after the death of a parent, in the sudden realization of what was there because of its absence), so LOVE NOW, in the moment, ALL those whom GOD has given you this DAY. Start close by; and extend it to the World and beyond.
Five Finger Prayer
1.
Your thumb
is nearest you. So begin your prayers by
praying for those closest to you. They are
the easiest to remember. To pray for our
loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a
‘sweet duty.’
2.
The next finger
is the pointing finger. Pray for those who
teach, instruct and heal. This includes
teachers, doctors, and ministers. They
need support and wisdom in pointing others in
the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger
is the tallest finger. It reminds us of
our leaders. Pray for the president,
leaders in business and industry, and
administrators.. These people shape our
nation and guide public opinion. They need
God’s guidance.
4. The fourth finger
is our ring finger. Surprising to many is
the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any
piano teacher will testify. It should
remind us to pray for those who are weak, in
trouble or in pain. They need your prayers
day and night. You cannot pray too much
for them.
5.. And lastly comes our little finger –
the smallest finger of all which is where we
should place ourselves in relation to God and
others. As the Bible says, ‘The least
shall be the greatest among you.’ Your
pinkie should remind you to pray for
yourself. By the time you have prayed for
the other four groups, your own needs will be
put into proper perspective and you will be able
to pray for yourself more effectively.
Joe’s watchword for joe: KISS! [keep it simple, sinner]
LIH,
joe
I love the picture of the Sacred Heart. It reminds me of the one that hangs in my parents’ dining room. It was painted by a family member in the late 1800’s who was a Nun in Ireland. Around the picture she painted the words — “Cease the Heart of Jesus is With You”. This gives me so much comfort everyday when taking care of my aging father becomes so hard. Hope you had a great birthday and are getting use to the grind of driving up and down the road to tend to your parishioners. Sounds like you are also learning a lot of the history of the area.