"All you need is love..."?

[henrikhank]

Pax!
The Beatles sang “All you need is love…”. As far as I understand this is not exactly what the Catholic Church is teaching. What then do the Church teach about this?

 

[Scottgun]

Pax!
The Beatles sang “All you need is love…”. As far as I understand this is not exactly what the Catholic Church is teaching. What then do the Church teach about this?

Well, this is rather broad. The Bible does indeed state that “God is Love”, and since we are all dependent on the Almighty for our existence. you could say that God is all we need, and by extension “All you need is love…”

But as Rule 31 of the 33 1/3rd Rules of Rock n’ Roll remind us:“Love is not all you need. Psychedelic lyrics never ring true after you’ve come down.”

This is especially true considering that if love is all you need, then that doesn’t include suing the stuffing out of your former bandmates.

We have to be very careful of not confusing “love” with “lurv”–That is to say, I can’t count the number of times people defending someone’s sin by saying that Our Lord preached love and forgiveness, not judging, and that He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. This is classic fallacy of omission, or cherry-picking, because Our Lord also preached about sin, the reality and permanence of Hell, and the need for the sinner to repent and “sin no more”. He loved the tax collector. He didn’t love their dishonest practices. He loved the prostitute. He didn’t love their degrading themselves sexually for money.

 

[Tomster]

Pax!
The Beatles sang “All you need is love…”. As far as I understand this is not exactly what the Catholic Church is teaching. What then do the Church teach about this?

We need the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity which have been given to us at our baptism with charity, as the Apostle St. Paul says, being the only one remaining through eternity.

 

[JamesATyler]

Also, we need the commandments that have been given to us by God. God would not have given us these commandments if there were no need for them.

 

[jonathan_hili]

All we need is God.

Now, I wonder why the Beatles didn’t sing that?

 

[RPRPsych]

All we need is God.

Now, I wonder why the Beatles didn’t sing that?

Because it was a bummer, and wasn’t cool, dude.

Also, because John Lennon had -]delusions/-] overvalued ideas of grandeur, and thought his band was bigger than God. Such are the snares of celebrity.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

…** know**, love, and serve …

John Lennon had other ideas:

…" … we’re more popular than Jesus … "

beatlesbible.com/1966/03/04/how-does-a-beatle-live-by-maureen-cleave/

 

[snarflemike]

It’s true, all you need is love. If it is perfect selfless love, that is. We’re not there yet.

St Augustine said “Love God and do as you will.” But the love he speaks of will, of necessity, result in us practicing all the virtues, and avoiding all the vices. As I said, we’re not there yet.

 

[tbcrawford]

36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matt. 22:36-40

If we love God …really love God and we really love our neighbour…everyone else in the world…we fulfill what Jesus taught us and what we are commanded to do.

Of course to truly love God and truly love our neighbour is very difficult to do.We may say we love God yet hurt others and if we hurt others we hurt God.We may say we love our neighbour but we may decide who is ‘worthy’ or not when we should not.It is very difficult and this is why they are the most important commandments for if we achieve them we would not commit any sins!

So it is our challenge to strive to really love God and love our neighbour. We will fail many many times but we keep trying.

God bless

 

[One_Man_Jury]

…** know**, love, and serve …

John Lennon had other ideas:

…" … we’re more popular than Jesus … "

beatlesbible.com/1966/03/04/how-does-a-beatle-live-by-maureen-cleave/

Lennon was raised Anglican but appeared philosophically atheist, as revealed by his song “Imagine.” In his defense, he explained that he didn’t mean the Beatles were better than Jesus, but he was stating a fact that around Europe and around the world, frenzied crowds would flock to the Beatles and they were not doing that for the Son of God.

 

[One_Man_Jury]

36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matt. 22:36-40

If we love God …really love God and we really love our neighbour…everyone else in the world…we fulfill what Jesus taught us and what we are commanded to do.

In that sense it is true, all you need is love.
This has been expressed many ways: “What would Jesus do?”
or as Jewish Rabbi Hillel summed it up 2000 years ago: “Love God and love your neighbor. All the rest is commentary.”
God does not want us to remain ignorant, however. Our church teaches us how to love. Our church teaches us to weigh values, such as: the right of a woman to choose what to do with her body does not trump the right of an infant in utero to be born.
Love does not mean sex and is not self-serving.
Look at the crucified Christ. That is love. The absolute sacrifice of all that I am for the benefit of others.

 

[MarkInOregon]

Pax!
The Beatles sang “All you need is love…”. As far as I understand this is not exactly what the Catholic Church is teaching. What then do the Church teach about this?

Just what do you think the Beatles had in mind when they talked about “love”? I doubt they were thinking in terms of Jesus great commandment–and a true love for God and for neighbor and all that entails.

Why do we care what the Beatles sang in song? Do you think the Beatles were stating and singing some great Christian truth?

Are not better questions – what is love? What does love entail? How does one truly love? It is easy to state a claim–much harder to set forth what exactly that claim means–if we try to live it. What light does Christ’s life and call to us shed on love? Did Christ just give a touchy feely catch phrase–or did he set forth a path, a narrow path for us to follow?

Peace,
Mark

 

[JRKH]

Pax!
The Beatles sang “All you need is love…”. As far as I understand this is not exactly what the Catholic Church is teaching. What then do the Church teach about this?

Love is Crucial. Others have referenced Mt 22:36-40 where the foundation of the Law and Prophets is shown to be Love and 1 John 4:7-8 where we hear that God IS Love.
To these I will add St Paul’s beautiful exhortation in 1 Cor 13:1-13…Without Love we are nothing.
So we see that Love is crucial.

So - Is Love ALL you need (as expressed by the Beatles)…Well it depends on what “love” is being referred to. What we call “love” today actually has 4 different words in Greek. The Love referred to in the above referenced bible passages refers to a self sacrificing, brotherly - familial love. It is “Agape”.

If you have this Love…you are well on your way.

Now - as for what else is needed…It might depend on where one is starting from…and where ones ends up. But it will always revolve around Love of God and Love of neighbor.

Peace
James

 

[rcwitness]

Love is Crucial. Others have referenced Mt 22:36-40 where the foundation of the Law and Prophets is shown to be Love and 1 John 4:7-8 where we hear that God IS Love.
To these I will add St Paul’s beautiful exhortation in 1 Cor 13:1-13…Without Love we are nothing.
So we see that Love is crucial.

So - Is Love ALL you need (as expressed by the Beatles)…Well it depends on what “love” is being referred to. What we call “love” today actually has 4 different words in Greek. The Love referred to in the above referenced bible passages refers to a self sacrificing, brotherly - familial love. It is “Agape”.

If you have this Love…you are well on your way.

Now - as for what else is needed…It might depend on where one is starting from…and where ones ends up. But it will always revolve around Love of God and Love of neighbor.

Peace
James

Nihil Obstat
Michael

 

[Love4All]

Also, we need the commandments that have been given to us by God. God would not have given us these commandments if there were no need for them.

The Commandments are Love.

 

[Love4All]

All we need is God.

Now, I wonder why the Beatles didn’t sing that?

Because “God” evokes people’s mental idols, whereas most people’s ideas of “Love” are a lot closer to the reality of God than are most people’s ideas of “God.”

Not that I am asserting that Lennon was really talking about God. Rather, what I am asserting is that Lennon was a lover, and lovers are of God, according to Scripture.

 

[Love4All]

It’s true, all you need is love. If it is perfect selfless love, that is. We’re not there yet.

St Augustine said “Love God and do as you will.” But the love he speaks of will, of necessity, result in us practicing all the virtues, and avoiding all the vices. As I said, we’re not there yet.

Pray the Rosary more.

 

[Love4All]

Just what do you think the Beatles had in mind when they talked about “love”? I doubt they were thinking in terms of Jesus great commandment–and a true love for God and for neighbor and all that entails.

What is the basis of your doubt?

Why do we care what the Beatles sang in song?

Um, because they were awesome beyond compare?

Do you think the Beatles were stating and singing some great Christian truth?

It would seem so.

Do you think “All you need is Love” fails somehow to express what is in fact the Central Christian Truth?

What more is there?

Are not better questions – what is love? What does love entail? How does one truly love?

“All you need is Love,” is not a question, so why are you asking about “better questions?”

Consider another John Lennon quote:

“It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love.”

Solid stuff, that! It is the foundation of the New Church.

It is easy to state a claim–much harder to set forth what exactly that claim means–if we try to live it. What light does Christ’s life and call to us shed on love? Did Christ just give a touchy feely catch phrase–or did he set forth a path, a narrow path for us to follow?

Peace,
Mark

I, for one, look very forward to meeting John Lennon in Heaven, if I am fortunate enough to be able to join him there!

 

[Aloysium]

i see it as a feel good song: there was a cold war, Bay of Pigs had been just a few years earlier, and Vietnam was already a mess

i believe they put it together as part of a world-wide telecast and that the intent of the song’s message was that with love anything is possible

i must say the lyrics confuse me; “there’s nothing that you can do that can’t be done” - really? duh, i just did it
maybe “there’s nothing you want to do, that you can’t do, if you do it with love” would be better - guess that’s why i don’t write songs

 

[MartinJordan]

Which love did Lennon mean?

Philo, Eros, Storge or Agape?

My guess…he had no idea

MJ