What does "Love" mean?

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Chan26

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The gospel for today included “I give you a new commandment: love one another.”

The priest went on an on about love but never told us what “love” means.
What does it mean to love someone like the Boston Marathon Bombers? Can you apply Jesus’ words, that “they know not what they do.”

If “they know not what they do,” how do you hold them responsible? How do you forgive them?–do we execute them but say we “forgive” them?
Are words like “love” and “forgive” and “enemies” just so much putty that we shape their meaning as we see fit. eg. “love the sinner but hate the sin.” Is that expression how we let ourselves off the hook for our anger, revenge, etc.?

I find it easier to “love” and “forgive” the Boston bombers than someone who pushes me out of the way to beat me to the elevator or wont repay a loan they desperately needed.

I hope it’s obvious platitudes or quoting Romans doesn’t really answer what we ACTUALLY do to and feel about such persons as the bombers or the friend who wont pay the loan.
chan26
 
I think love is an action word. You’re right, its alot easier to forgive a person who didn’t injure you. So how can we “love” them? By praying for their souls and hoping that justice is served for their benefit here on earth. How can we love our unlovable spouses, friends, patients, acqauinetences? By always treating them with respect and fulfilling our duties toward them no matter how we may feel.

I am still waiting for a feeling of love for many people to wash over me and make things easier. But it hasn’t happened yet. I think there is more merit to the action of love you don’t feel than when you do feel it. After all, Jesus Himself said it isn’t enough to love your brothers…even the pagans do this. (Something to that effect). He knew we would have a rough time loving the unlovable.
 
Had THE most excellent response to this today in Church. Best I have heard in YEARS. As soon as it is posted, I could link it. Yes?
 
Priest today said “forgive”. [Gets us away from “loving pizza”, for example.]

My choice for a substitute word would be “help” … Help one another as I have helped you.

The finding of acceptable substitutes is easier in Italian, Latin, Greek, etc. They love people and like things.

And there are different kinds of love.

Love … where you give your life for someone else, for example. If you push someone out of the way of a speeding car, and you get killed instead of that other person. Or dive into deep water and rescue others and then it’s too late for you. Or run into a burning building. Or jump onto a terrorist bomb and take the full force yourself. Or hug some nutjob shooter, stopping him, taking the bullet yourself and giving others the opportunity to push him to the floor.

But sometimes, you get lucky and you save the other and somehow, improbably, you also are saved.
 
Monte_RCMS said:
Priest today said “forgive”. [Gets us away from “loving pizza”, for example.]

My choice for a substitute word would be “help” … Help one another as I have helped you.

The finding of acceptable substitutes is easier in Italian, Latin, Greek, etc. They love people and like things. And there are different kinds of love. Love where you give your life for someone else, for example.
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In the 60’s Bert Kaempfert wrote a song that went
L- is for the way you LOOK at me
O-is you’re the ONLY one I see
V-is Very,very extraordinary
E-is Even more than anything that you adore

Love however from a Christian point of view is self-sacrificing for the good of another even if it is never returned. It is seen when Christ died on the cross for even those who crucified him. It doesn’t necessarily mean you LIKE the person or what they are doing but you desire the best for them even your enemies. Another word could be “heal” Heal one another as I have healed you.
 
LegoGE1947 said:
In the 60’s Bert Kaempfert wrote a song that went
L- is for the way you LOOK at me
O-is you’re the ONLY one I see
V-is Very,very extraordinary
E-is Even more than anything that you adore

Love however from a Christian point of view is self-sacrificing for the good of another even if it is never returned. It is seen when Christ died on the cross for even those who crucified him. It doesn’t necessarily mean you LIKE the person or what they are doing but you desire the best for them even your enemies. Another word could be “heal” Heal one another as I have healed you.
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Bert wrote that?!! Really!!! He had quite the unusual and distinct sound…
Will link to this love query ASAP…

Nice, lego my eggo.
 
littlenothing said:
I think love is an action word. You’re right, its alot easier to forgive a person who didn’t injure you. So how can we “love” them? By praying for their souls and hoping that justice is served for their benefit here on earth. How can we love our unlovable spouses, friends, patients, acqauinetences? By always treating them with respect and fulfilling our duties toward them no matter how we may feel.

I am still waiting for a feeling of love for many people to wash over me and make things easier. But it hasn’t happened yet. I think there is more merit to the action of love you don’t feel than when you do feel it. After all, Jesus Himself said it isn’t enough to love your brothers…even the pagans do this. (Something to that effect). He knew we would have a rough time loving the unlovable.
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Thank you–you have thought about this and see the difficulty. Your second paragraph is ripe with issues if I understand it. eg–You are with a friend and because you feel it’s important to impress her with your “generosity” you give a beggar who belongs to a group you despise ( a racial group member, a religious group member, etc.) $50. Your friend is impressed. The beggar, who otherwise you’d never give a penny, jumps with joy and say, "God bless you. I can pay the mechanic for my car and take that job I have been offered. OR—

You give a $1 bills to a beggar as you pull out of Walmart. It gives you a nice warm feeling inside so you do it every time as you pull out and you get the warm feeling. Then one beggar takes your bill but complains at the small amount.“I want more,” he says… Look at that car you drive." You don’t get the warm feeling and although you keep giving $1 to others you don’t give anything to the beggar who complained.
Is giving to others for the purpose of getting your warm feeling inside an expression of love?
Is not giving to someone because you think they are ungrateful consistent with loving or should you give anyway to those who abuse you?
I think the issue is, does your motive for doing an act that helps someone have any bearing on whether it constitutes and act of love?
chan26,
 
cheezey said:
Bert wrote that?!! Really!!! He had quite the unusual and distinct sound…
Will link to this love query ASAP…

Nice, lego my eggo.
Click to expand...
Very nice
Help me here if you would, is “Doing the best” for someone doing what you think is the best or what they think is the best?

(I know there are situations where someone wants to do something so destructive, dangerous etc, that you would not support their choice but there are many more less dramatic situations. e.g., “Son, you either go to college or I’m not giving you a dime.” Son wants to go to Argentina to accept a job offer to work as a gaucho but he needs airfare." etc etc.
chan26
 
Monte_RCMS said:
The finding of acceptable substitutes is easier in Italian, Latin, Greek, etc. They love people and like things.

And there are different kinds of love.
Click to expand...
Exactly. When everything gets translated into “love,” you definitely have a precision problem with that language.
 
ProVobis said:
Exactly. When everything gets translated into “love,” you definitely have a precision problem with that language.
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Years ago a car company “America loves baseball, apple pie, puppy dogs and Chevrolet” commercial
 
cheezey said:
“they go together, in the good Ol’ USA, Baseball and hot dogs, Apple pie and Chevrolet…”
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That commercial dates back, I think, to the early to mid 1970s. I’m really feeling ancient now!🤷
 
How about this…

Love is wanting the best for the “other”, for their benefit, not mine.
Love has nothing to do with feelings. Love is a choice, an act of the mind, not the heart.

We love our friends, “loved ones”, and even enemies by wanting the “best” for them - which is defined as what Christ also thinks is best for us. We don’t need to like our enemies, or our in-laws :rolleyes: but we do need to love them by wanting what is best for them.

As an opportunity for repentence, Jesus asked Peter 3 times if he loved him. He used a different word for love each time. The last time, the word for love implied giving up everything, including your life, for someone you love. Indeed, this is what Jesus did for us, and he asks us to do it too.

All love involves sacrifice. The ultimate love involves sacrifice of all that we have.
 
Chan:
of course motive matters, but usually our motives are rather mixed. I might do something out of “love” because I know I should and also because it makes me look good in their eyes. I might tithe for love of God and the tax writeoff!

We can’t really know sometimes how pure our love is for someone. Until we can’t stand them but keep fulfilling our duty toward them even though its the last thing we want to do.

Sometimes saying no is love, too. You’re right. Padre Pio admonished a woman severely because she was so permissive with her children the grew up poorly and went to Hell! So sometimes its hard to administer that type of love too.

You cannot love well without wisdom and sacrifice.
 
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