God's Love

[pablope]

I posted this also in the Spirituality sub forum:

Hello to all,

I was asked to reflect on this, and would like some insights or suggested readings:

In today’s world, full of poverty, hunger, war, crimes, sex, pornography…how does one find God’s love in the world?

What are manifestations of God’s love despite all these?

And what is the Church’s role in all these?

Thanks.

 

[mikeghiorso]

I believe that we are, quite literally, the manifestation of God’s love to the world. I think it was St. Theresa who said the Christ has no hands but yours. We are called to be the love of God made visible to our brothers and sisters. We are sent to feed, to clothe, to visit … (all the criteria from the Gospel proclaimed at the Feats of Christ the King — yesterday).

 

[Jared2914]

Well, I believe that God works mostly through his children on Earth. To see God’s love in the word, just look at all the good things people do in the world. This can be hard because the media focuses on the bad things, but there is still good in the world. There’s more visible stuff like people saving people from a burning building and the silent things like parents working hard everyday for their children. It’s especially easy when looking at practicing Catholics. See all the volunteers working for your local parish. See Catholics peacefully protesting on the curbside for good causes. They don’t even have to be Catholic though. Look at all the money that was donated for relief in New Orleans (hurricane), Haiti (earthquake), and Japan (tsunami). People can be committing very bad sins but still be doing very good things too.

The Church’s role is to foster the good. She is constantly urging people to do better and improve. The Church takes the scriptures and translates them into a modern language that everyone can understand. The Church also shows a good example through the clergy and other Catholic workers that people can look up to. Catholic role models are not the celebrities, the wealthy, or even the presidents but the saints, priests, and nuns.

 

[bisco]

God so loved the world, that He sent His only Son to die for our sins, so that we can have eternal life with him. our role is to bring that love to others, in Jesus name, so that they can experience it first hand. God loved us, even when we were His enemies. that is how we are converted to love Him back, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[PRmerger]

I posted this also in the Spirituality sub forum:

Hello to all,

I was asked to reflect on this, and would like some insights or suggested readings:

In today’s world, full of poverty, hunger, war, crimes, sex, pornography…how does one find God’s love in the world?

What are manifestations of God’s love despite all these?

I think the family is the best manifestation of God’s love, (beyond the sacraments, of course). It is, to be sure, the “domestic church”.

Wasn’t there a saying made by Pope JP2 that went: as the family goes, so goes society. As society goes, so goes the nation. As the nations go, so goes the world.

So the family is definitely at the source of having a good, holy world.

And what is the Church’s role in all these?

Thanks.

The Church’s role is to keep the family holy by supporting efforts to stay holy. And no one can stay holy without the sacraments.

So the Church is key.