Pentecost and the Spirit of love
On the night He was betrayed, our Lord gave a new commandment: “that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
He quickly follows this with adding that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and He promises “another Counselor to be with you, even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). He promises this, for it is this Spirit who will enable us to keep our Lord’s commandment, thereby proving our love for Him and the Father (John 14:21).
In this divine lesson we are taught it is precisely our love of one another that Christ establishes as the criterion of our love of God. This is the basis of St. John saying: “Love is of God and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love,” adding, “He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him” (1 John 4:7-8, 16).
Many Catholics, if asked “Why did God make you?” would respond, rightly, with: “To know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life and be happy with Him forever in heaven.” What must be remembered, however, in light of our Lord’s commandment, is that this necessarily involves loving one another as a condition of loving Him. In other words, in living for God, we are here to love one another. Whoever seeks hope of unraveling the meaning of our existence must wrestle with, and ultimately accept, this fundamental premise: we are here to love one another.
What is the nature of this love? Many Catholics are familiar with the fact that the word translated as “love” is the Greek word agape, meaning an unconditional, self-sacrificing, self-donating love of self-gift.
An unfortunate misunderstanding capable of creeping into our minds, however, is that this type of love should be acted out in some form of “doormat spirituality” wherein we efface ourselves to such an extent that we become a victim to ourselves. This is not love. After all, as our Lord says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39, emphasis mine). It is important for us to keep this in mind, for if you would not want to see someone else treated the way you treat yourself, perhaps you too have misunderstood the nature of true love.
As opposed to this, our love is to be the gift of oneself while remaining our authentic self.
You might be asking yourself, how does this fit with living a life of self-denial? In short, the answer is to be knowingly and willfully caught up into the life and love of the other out of love for them and God while freely living and owning our own life and love. In so doing, we remain our true selves while leaving our ego by the wayside.
When we succeed here, our love shines through us. This is how our love can prove we are one of God’s, for our love will, in proportion to the nature of the relationship in question, leave all thoughts of limitation behind.
After all, loving with all your soul knows no preset limit. Rather, the life of love is inconceivable without openness to growth and spontaneity, looking for new ways to prepare joys for one’s beloved. When our hearts burn with love, our beloved’s wish becomes our desire and a command to our soul wherein we freely seek more abundant fruit in the relationship. This is why it has often been said that love is a law unto itself, for it needs no commands.
In this season of Pentecost, may we seek to more fully embrace the Spirit of love so we may live the life of love.
Jason Whitehead is the diocesan director of evangelization and catechesis. He entered the Church in 2012 and subsequently received a master’s degree in theology. Find his regular columns for the North Texas Catholic here.