I love you, man.

English is usually a vocabulary rich language. Take the word ‘walk’ as an example. You can amble, stroll, saunter, trudge, march, sashay, glide, wander, plod, dawdle, hike, stomp, stagger, ramble, tread, prowl, promenade, roam, mosey, traipse, and stride. All of these mean to walk but each describes a different way to walk. It is easy to understand just how someone is walking by using one of these words.

Yet, when we get to the most important thing in life we have but one word in English. I love my wife. I love my job. I love my pet squirrel. I can even denote the opposite meaning by using love sarcastically. I love cleaning up the dog mess on the front lawn. Love holds a different meaning in each of these sentences but it is left up to the reader to figure out what is meant in each of them.

Love is a scary thing because it makes one vulnerable and opens one up to be hurt. What happens if I love someone and they don’t love me back? What if I express my love and I am thought of as a fool? It is true that love can make you vulnerable but it is equally true that love can make you invincible. It all depends on the way you love.

The lowest level of love is an inward love, a selfish love. It is a love of desire. The Greeks had a word for this type of love and that is eros. We get the word erotic from it. We associate it with a desire of a physical nature but covers desires of all sorts. Someone who is gluttonous has a (eros) love of food. Someone who is greedy has a (eros) love of money. Someone who is vain has a (eros) love of beauty.

The next level of love is an outward love for another that usually depends on an inward love that is returned. This is a brotherly love that is often expressed in loyalty as in between friends, family, and one’s community. It is a generic type of love. The Greek word for this type of love is philia and we get words like Philadelphia or pedophilia from it. I (philia) love my coworkers. I (philia) love my schnauzer. I (philia) love the Chicago Cubs. There is an expectation with this type of love that the same love will be returned. It makes one vulnerable to suffering when the love goes unrequited.

The next level of love is more outward than inward. It is a love of tenderness and affection, usually between parents and children. It is a familial love. For the Greeks this love was known as storge. This type of love was also used to describe extreme loyalty, as in patriotism for one’s country. Although more outward than inward, this type of love can make one vulnerable to very deep pain and suffering. It is the kind of suffering a parent goes through when they watch one of their children suffer or the pain they feel when rejected by a child. It is the kind of suffering a patriot goes through when he learns of a great evil his country has committed. It is some of the greatest pain a person can ever know.

The highest level of love is always outward. It is a sacrificial love that expects nothing in return. It is a love that loves above all things. To the Greeks this type of love was known as agápe. For a Christian, God is agápe. Agápe is loving without regard to one’s self, giving all one has. This makes a person invulnerable. If you are willing to give everything without regard to yourself nothing can hurt you. This is the level of love we all are called to. It is a level most of us will never obtain until the end of purgatory. Then we will be able to see God for who he is for we will be like him. We will be agape.

Peter denied Jesus three times on the night he was betrayed. In John 21: 15 - 17 Jesus asks Peter if he loves him shortly after Jesus’ resurrection. Peter answers that he does. This is often referred to as the redemption of Peter. Reading this in the original Greek paints a slightly different story. Twice Jesus asks Peter if he loves him above all things (agápe). Peter responds that he only has a brotherly love for Jesus (philia). The third time Jesus asks Peter if he only has a brotherly love for him (philia). With this, scripture says that Peter was grieved. Most assume that it is because Jesus has now asked three times, reminding him of his three denials. I suspect that it is because Peter has realized that he has failed yet another test. He didn’t have the love for Jesus that he should have by now (agápe). Jesus promises Peter that he will love him with total sacrificial love before his ministry comes to an end. Peter does his time in purgatory during his time on earth and goes to his own crucifixion with agápe love for our Lord.

Agápe love is the love Saint Paul is talking about when he says that love is patient, love is kind…you know, the reading you always heard read at weddings. We are called to have that type of love, total sacrificial love, for our spouse. To put them first and to live for them in everything.

The type of love we are called to have for our spouse is the same type of love we are called to have for every person, friend and foe alike. That is the kind of love God has for each of us.

Happy New Year

This year in our homiletics class we had to give a homily on one of the weeks of Advent or Christmas. I chose the first week of Advent to give my homily on. Seeing today is the first Sunday of Advent I thought I would share that homily with you.

First Sunday of Advent – Cycle C

1^st Reading – Jeremiah 33: 14-16

2^nd Reading – Thesalonians 3: 12 – 4: 2

Gospel – Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

Happy new year everyone. When I said that to my family this morning one of my children said, “Dad, it isn’t even Christmas yet.” Well, for us adults the preparation for Christmas started about the second week of September when all of the new Christmas stuff hit the stores and by now we have been so immersed in the “Christmas season” that many of us are looking forward to celebrating Ground Hog’s Day. 

But today is the first day of Advent and the official beginning of the Christmas season for us Christians. It is also the beginning of our liturgical year so it is New Year’s Day for the Church. How does the Church kick off our preparation for Christmas? First, we start dressing in purple and dreading the coming conversation of, “It’s not pink, it’s rose.”  What did we hear in the readings today? Did we hear about the Annunciation of Mary or shepherds tending their flocks at night? Was it about the wise men following yonder star? Those readings would have made sense. 

The Gospel today was about the coming of Jesus, but not the coming we would expect to hear going into Christmas. The Gospel was about the second coming of Christ at the end times. That is a very odd way of starting off the New Year don’t you think? We spend the first day of the year talking about the last day of time. What is the Church thinking?

Well, it is actually quite brilliant. The Church begins by telling us our destination. It is a destination all of us are going to reach one way or another.  Jesus warns us, “That day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth.” After today, the Church will spend the rest of the year showing us the best path to follow to reach that destination.

In the first reading today we hear God’s promise to send his Son. That is the source of our hope and joy. It gives us strength for our journey. Then we hear from St. Paul on how to be blameless before God on the last day, to strengthen our hearts for the road we all must travel. Finally Jesus tells us that the end day is coming and that it will catch many people off guard. He encourages us to be vigilant always and to pray we will have the strength to stand before him when he arrives. If Jesus were to walk through that door right now and go, "Surprise, I’m back!" how many of us would be blameless before him? I know I wouldn’t.

That is what Advent is all about. It is time we have been given, not to focus on the destination, but how we are growing in holiness along the way. Yes, Advent ends with us celebrating the birth of Jesus but our growth in holiness does not end with that celebration. Our growth is to continue for the rest of our lives.

So let us begin this new year by asking ourselves one simple question – What am I doing to grow in holiness? Let me offer three suggestions on how you can do this.  

One – Spend time with Jesus. 

Two – Spend time with Jesus. 

And three, can anybody guess it? Spend time with Jesus.

Spend time with Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Get to confession. Let him heal you and restore you to his full friendship. We cannot begin grow in holiness when we have a broken friendship with our Lord.

Spend time with Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Receive the body and blood, soul and divinity or our Lord. Allow Jesus to live in and dwell within you in the most intimate union we can have with our Lord on this side of heaven.

Finally, spend time with Jesus in Eucharistic adoration. You cannot fall in love with someone you never spend time with, so come spend an hour with Jesus when he is available for adoration here at St. Rita or any of our parishes that offer the opportunity. 

Do these three things as often as you can and you will grow in holiness. Then, when you reach the final destination you will be able to stand before the Lord with your head held high because you will know him, you will love him, and you will want to spend every moment of eternity with him.

Happy New Year everyone.