Mon 1st Week of Lent Homily

In order for us to be able to discover and live out the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity we must return to the love that is shown to us by God. In his first of what would of been four encyclical letters Pope Benedict XVI would give the Church "Deus Caritas Est" "God is Love" before moving further to explain the theological virtues of hope, charity, and what would of been faith. In our society we have a very harmful view of God because we hold God as a judge instead of being able to see the love that God continually pours out upon us. From the fourth chapter of the 1st Letter of Saint John we are told: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

There are three types of love that can be found. These are agape, eros, and philia which move ourselves forward in our quest of love. Agape is a love which is descending and in which we give love to another. Eros is a love that is ascending and is the love that we receive from another. Philia is the love which is mutual. In our world we see over and over again the failure to love in an ordered fashion. Love is not to meet our needs alone for the sake of pleasure, but must also be returned for the sake of the person that we love. Upon the wood of the cross we can look to see the love that is being poured out into our lives hopefully moving us to love of ourself and our neighbor.

As we continue this journey into this sacred season of Lent may we rekindle our relationship to God through prayer. May we allow prayer to help us to enter more and more into the love that is found inside of the Trinity. This love in return will help us to respond to the message that comes to us in today's Gospel. That is the message of being concerned for our neighbor. We cannot say that we love God, but do not love our neighbor and we cannot say that we love our neighbor without in return loving God. When we love our neighbor we are loving the unseen God who we are drawn to through our faith. May we within this season rediscover our love for God and be moved from this outpouring of love to true concern and giving of ourselves to those whom we encounter in this life.