Love.........and responsibility........(article)

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http://catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf0071.html

Love and . . . Responsibility?
EDWARD P. SRI
(Catholic Educator’s Resource Centre)

Not only is this a statement on the marriage relationship, but on the relationship of God in agape with every person………hearkening to The Holy Father’s encyclical “God is Love”…
……….“……………So when the beloved is having a not-so-beautiful moment — is not pleasing to me and in fact does something to hurt me — will there still be total love and acceptance for him or her?
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This is the kind of question that gets at the real measure of one’s love. As Wojtyla sums up,

The strength of such a love emerges most clearly when the beloved person stumbles, when his or her weaknesses or even sins come into the open. One who truly loves does not then withdraw his love, but loves all the more, loves in full consciousness of the other’s shortcomings and faults, and without in the least approving of them. For the person as such never loses its essential value. The emotion which attaches itself to the value of the person remains loyal to the human being." (p. 135)

This, of course, is analogous to the way the Lord loves us. Despite our many sins and failures, God remains committed to us, looking at us patiently and mercifully in the face of our faults. He puts up with us even when we do things that hurt our relationship with Him……………….”…………….
 
What a beautiful statement Barb!

I have witnessed this myself in ways my wife has stood by me in times of my own great weaknesses, with our love and marriage ending up so much stronger because of it. I think my understanding of God’s love was also much improved by watching this relatively unconditional love in action.

Of course my wife is a SAINT, so I’ve not had the opportunity to have the unconditional nature of my love for her tested! 🙂

Peace to you Barb, and thanks!
 
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ncjohn:
What a beautiful statement Barb!

I have witnessed this myself in ways my wife has stood by me in times of my own great weaknesses, with our love and marriage ending up so much stronger because of it. I think my understanding of God’s love was also much improved by watching this relatively unconditional love in action.

Of course my wife is a SAINT, so I’ve not had the opportunity to have the unconditional nature of my love for her tested! 🙂

Peace to you Barb, and thanks!
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Hi there John…we say God is Love…I mean, if I say “I fell in love”, do I realize what I have said, the holiness of such a statement. God has entered into a relationship between me and another person for He is Love…this is very stupendous…stunning!
Catholicism has hundreds of years of being hung up over sex to shake off (if possible) and it make take hundreds of years perhaps more to do it if we really really try! I suspect Pope Benedict realizes this … hence the encyclical “God is Love”…God IS love…he IS the love between whatever and whatever. The encyclical is an amazing document - monumental because the Holy Father tackled both eros and agape…and beautifully I thought and I’m just a very average person…a person one passes on the street unnoticing.

Marriage in fact reflects the very life of The Trinity as no other state in life does. At the moment, I have to go, but will return and address that latter statement.

John, my only marriage failed completely after 15 years, altho the process began long before that…hence I cannot comment on married love from experience. But it does sound from your Post that you and your wife qualify outstandlingly to feature in my imaginary ponderings of what a good marriage would be like. Congratulations…I hate you!😃 …no one panic - it’s a joke…:mad: …mumble mumble!

…caught the ‘SAINT’ referenceJohn in your Post and with a big smile!😉 This makes me happy because I hope that we will have more and more married people and laity on the altars of The Church and not so many religious and priests - this is another problem that I ponder - so many good and sincere, holy Catholics are actually nuns and priests unofficially…compliments of reading spiritual works by saints and/or admiration and imitation of them, who were nuns and priests OFFICIALLY.

If you can make it work I think marriage is the only way to go in life if one is called to it. We have a book called “The family that overtook God”…so many saints in the family that the author and jokingly gave the book that title. Let’s be the states in life that overtook God!..and roll over priest and religious saints!

If you want a very funny read, tho a lengthy one…reported in Aust. Catholic News Resources was this article on the history of poor Mary Magdalen and The Church’s struggle with the issue of that ‘sex’ problem…

newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060213fa_fact2

Thanks for the response John…Barb
 
I highly recommend reading “Love and Responsibility” written by Karol Wojtyla. It’s a real eye opener regarding love issues.
 
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MarySon:
I highly recommend reading “Love and Responsibility” written by Karol Wojtyla. It’s a real eye opener regarding love issues.
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Hi MarySon…can you quote a link please? Would be very interested indeed to read it.

Down our 2000 year history, The Church has developed some very negative ideas about human sexuality. Pope Benedict has planted the seed of this being corrected in his first encyclical “God is Love”…in the wake of which many articles are coming out based on this monumental work which will in the course of time have far reaching consequences I am sure.
I’ll return and post a link to the encyclical.

In my post to John previously I mentioned that marriage reflects The Blessed Trinity and is a witness to it as not other state. Here are my reasons:
The Father loves The Son and the Love between Them is The Holy Spirit. One God. I have read this somewhere as a description of the life of The Blessed Trinity.
I think my comparison with marriage is obvious.

I’m not married incidentally and have embraced by choice the single state.

Barb:)
 
C S P B said:
catholicculture.com/jp2_on_l&r.pdf

Here is a great collection of quotes and exerpts from L&R. In a few pages you can learn many of the key elements of the book.
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Hi there CSPB…thank you for the link - it seems to be a fairly large document and I will be downloading it as soon as I can.

Barb:)
 
Thank you BarbaraTherese, this was another wonderful article just like the one you posted on discernment.
 
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Aureole:
Thank you BarbaraTherese, this was another wonderful article just like the one you posted on discernment.
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Hi Aureole…a pleasure and I am happy you found something in them, I sure did!

Barb
 
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