Loving God

[strugglingalong]

How do you know you are loving God?

Right now I am struggling with understanding how to love God. When temptation comes, there is part of me that wants to give in, is that normal or is that a sin? I am really worried right now that because part of me wants to give in that I may already be in a state of mortal sin.

My goal is to turn from sin and the hour of temptation to reject it out of love of God but sometimes I feel like I am rejecting it because I just want to be good, or because I want other people to see me as good or because of some other reason. Are these sins and bad things to not have that intention of rejecting temptation just out of love of God?

Pax Christi tecum.

 

[DBT]

How do you know you are loving God?

We know we are loving God by loving our neighbor.

Dave

 

[beckycmarie]

We know we are loving God by loving our neighbor.

Dave

I’d add, and keeping God’s commandments. Of course loving our neighbor is one of those. . .

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15)

 

[water]

How about by knowing that we are not loving God - that can lead us to love Him.

 

[lgreen]

hello all,
I hear your frustration and feel it at times too. I think that part of loving is to question if we are strong enough, good enough or doing it right.

The very idea that we question it, keeps us striving for excellence, and that is a great way to be!

 

[grandfather]

How do you know you are loving God?
.

John writes in his epistle. “The love of God consists in this, that we keep His commandments.”

 

[Nick9]

John writes in his epistle. “The love of God consists in this, that we keep His commandments.”

I also think wanting to keep God’s commandments is a sign that we love Him. So those who struggle against sin because they know it is wrong can also be said to be loving God.

 

[JReducation]

This is a beautiful thread and I want to thank the OP for starting it. That being said, let’s deal with the issues presented in the OP one at a time.

1. We need to recognize that there is such a thing as mortal sin, no doubt about it. But like the saints, we need to protect ourselves from becoming scrupulous. Scrupulosity is a form of anxiety and pride. When anxiety takes over the spritual life, it is difficult for the person to make good choices. It can often be crippling. If we know that something is a mortal sin, we stay away from it. If we’re not sure, we also stay away from it. If we do something that we’re unsure that it’s a mortal sin, then we are not culpable of mortal sin. Knowledge is a requirement for culpability. We can take the Church’s word for this and be at peace.
2. Temptation is not a sin. Temptation is a desire, an impulse, an attraction and so forth. We normally don’t sit down and plan out what we’re going to desire today. Our desires come and go, including our desires for things that may be sinful. For something to be a sin it must be

a. materially sinful
b. known by us that it is materially sinful
c. freely chosen by us

Temptations don’t meet these criteria. To place ourselves in a situation where we know that we’re going to be tempted is a sin, unless we have a very good reason for being there. For example, we can’t stop going to work because we work in a bank vault and it’s tempting to put a few bills in our pockets. Of course we must never take something that is not ours. That’s obvious.

St. Francis of Assisi and Shakespeare agree on many points. The one that applies here is that “imitation is the best form of flattery”. We know that we are loving God when we imitate his Son.

We must take the parables, beatitudes, discourses, sacraments, and behaviours of Jesus, select a starting point and begin imitating that one. From there the Holy Spirit will help us to expand to the next and the next.

“If you love me, you will keep my Commandments.” Jesus commandments were not just his words, but how he lived and how he treated others, most importantly how he was always faithful to the Will of the Father. Jesus taught his commandments through word and action.

Love of God is proven by going from Gospel to life and life to Gospel, as St. Francis of Assisi taught his followers.

Fraternallly,

JR

 

[beckycmarie]

How about by knowing that we are not loving God - that can lead us to love Him.

And knowing that no matter how much we love Him, we don’t love Him enough, can lead us to union with God.

 

[JReducation]

And knowing that no matter how much we love Him, we don’t love Him enough, can lead us to union with God.

I was reading a book by Teresa Baker and something caught my attention. I’ll paraphase it, because it’s a page long.

She is talking about reaching union with God and to do this she begins with the Eucharist at the climax. I understand this. This is dogma as old as Christianity. But she takes this to another level. This is what I was saying about imitation.

She asks her reader what part of the Gospel one needs to work on. Then she goes on to say that true love is to attack that part and begin, because love is a choice.

I found this very inspiring.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[beckycmarie]

She asks her reader what part of the Gospel one needs to work on. Then she goes on to say that true love is to attack that part and begin, because love is a choice.

I found this very inspiring.

Thanks for sharing that - very good advice for anyone who wants to love God more.

 

[strugglingalong]

This is a beautiful thread and I want to thank the OP for starting it. That being said, let’s deal with the issues presented in the OP one at a time.

1. We need to recognize that there is such a thing as mortal sin, no doubt about it. But like the saints, we need to protect ourselves from becoming scrupulous. Scrupulosity is a form of anxiety and pride. When anxiety takes over the spritual life, it is difficult for the person to make good choices. It can often be crippling. If we know that something is a mortal sin, we stay away from it. If we’re not sure, we also stay away from it. If we do something that we’re unsure that it’s a mortal sin, then we are not culpable of mortal sin. Knowledge is a requirement for culpability. We can take the Church’s word for this and be at peace.
2. Temptation is not a sin. Temptation is a desire, an impulse, an attraction and so forth. We normally don’t sit down and plan out what we’re going to desire today. Our desires come and go, including our desires for things that may be sinful. For something to be a sin it must be

a. materially sinful
b. known by us that it is materially sinful
c. freely chosen by us

Temptations don’t meet these criteria. To place ourselves in a situation where we know that we’re going to be tempted is a sin, unless we have a very good reason for being there. For example, we can’t stop going to work because we work in a bank vault and it’s tempting to put a few bills in our pockets. Of course we must never take something that is not ours. That’s obvious.

St. Francis of Assisi and Shakespeare agree on many points. The one that applies here is that “imitation is the best form of flattery”. We know that we are loving God when we imitate his Son.

We must take the parables, beatitudes, discourses, sacraments, and behaviours of Jesus, select a starting point and begin imitating that one. From there the Holy Spirit will help us to expand to the next and the next.

“If you love me, you will keep my Commandments.” Jesus commandments were not just his words, but how he lived and how he treated others, most importantly how he was always faithful to the Will of the Father. Jesus taught his commandments through word and action.

Love of God is proven by going from Gospel to life and life to Gospel, as St. Francis of Assisi taught his followers.

Fraternallly,

JR

Thank you! That was a very thoughtful, beautiful post and it blessed me immensely!

Pax Christi tecum.

 

[JReducation]

I love the simplicity of this thread. I wish more people were reading it. I just came from reading another thread on the Bishops’ statements on the raid against illegal aliens or illegal immigrants. I was saddened, because they group seems to have missed the bishops’ message.

The message was very clear, to me… You must always love God, not matter who you’re dealing with and no matter what they have done. We have a tendency to avoid the harsh demands of the Gospel. God is love and deserves to be loved. How often does Jesus say that we should forgive? Why does Jesus demand that we forgive if it’s not for love of God and those whom God loves?

God’s love tempers justice with mercy. It tempers anger with gentleness. It tempers judgment with compassion.

When anger, indignation, judgment and other strong feelings such as these invade the mind, they have the potential to lead us to worse sins than concupiscence of the flesh, lying or stealing. They eat away at the mind and make it impossible for us to see the Lord’s love,more difficult to practice it.

God is love. When our holy father Francis founded his three orders he told us to become penitents. He said that we had no choice but to do penance. Why was that? Well, God is love, but love is not loved. The only way that we can love is through conversion. If we do not love him who is Love Incarnate, then we forfeit our salvation.

What was interesting in Francis’ focus on the scripture was that he did not select one particular area of the Christian life. He was not about liturgy, preaching, poverty, charity, and corporal works of mercy, missions, and so forth. He was very holistic. He said that our call in life is to live the Gospel, every single part of it. The Gospel is Jesus Christ. In essence, he said that we need only one rule in life, Christ.

All of us are to live as Christ lived his human life. So Francis never wrote long and great books, because as far as he was concerned, the greatest book of all on the subject of Love was the person of Jesus Christ. It had been written at the incarnation and explained on the cross and at the Resurrection.

So Francis writes in his last will and testament, that he who does not see the love of God and live according to that love will forfeit his salvation.

Thanks for letting me share.

Fraternally,

JR