Revolution of Love.com
Our Lady and True Love
by Brian
“Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” In his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, St. Paul writes, “…so faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (From the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1822, v.13)
Like the “woman clothed with the sun” from the book of Revelation, Chapter 12, Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart was clothed with God’s love. This love, embraced by Mary, was a true reflection of the love preached and practiced by Christ Himself.
Why is this important? Because many Catholics have bought into a lie, straight from the pit of hell, which has convinced them that love is all about feelings and emotions and has little to do with anything else. Therefore, in today’s society, husbands leave their wives and wives desert their families, all under the pretext that the feelings that once bonded a couple no longer exist. This sad situation has left many hearts wounded and many families broken.
To combat this modern day vision of “love,” we must look to Our Mother. She is the perfect remedy to remind us that love is not about feelings, as good as feelings are, but rather about sacrifice, commitment, self denial and openness to the Holy Will of God.
Because of her dignity and vocation, Our Heavenly Mother will never offer us anything less than the most perfect example of Christian life. She continually witnesses to the truth about what her Son taught and what will help us reach our Heavenly home. Our Lady understood and lived out what St. Paul discovered – that “love” was the greatest of the virtues.
From the Annunciation, where Our Lady knew that being pregnant outside the marriage covenant bore the penalty of death, to the shadow of the Cross where she watched her Son derided and ridiculed by the crowds while dying, Mary followed the pathway of love. In both good times and in bad times, her love never wavered or dimmed, but remained constant and true.
It is not easy to love, especially when love calls you to sacrifice, remain steadfast and be courageous in the face of darkness, uncertainty and suffering. To break free from the type of love that is self centered and shallow, we must turn to Our Lady who will guide us to the love Christ spoke about when he said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn.15:13)
Of course the love that the Blessed Virgin lived and gives witness to is bound to the Cross. Nevertheless, if we want to practice an authentic love, we should go to Our Lady in prayer and ask her to help us obtain the level of love that Jesus calls us to.
God bless.