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Our youngest child is named Charity. We like the sound of the word as well as its definition of "pure love." A few weeks before her first birthday we were trying to generate a discussion of love with our older children around the dinner table. What is love? What causes us to feel it for others: And why are some people so much easier to feel it for than others?
Hard questions; especially for children. No - maybe especially hard for adults and easier for children. The discussion went beyond what we had hoped. We found ourselves learning instead of teaching. We talked about love meaning caring and about how we love those who love us and do things for us. Then our eleven-year-old daughter brought up the illustration of baby Charity. "She doesn't do things for us, we do everything for her, and just think how we all love Charity!"
"Well, she does love us," said the seven-year-old, "you can tell that by how she looks at you."
"And she never tells you to be different," said our nine-year-old son, "she just seems to like you no matter what." - Richard
What are the messages?
First, we learn to love by serving others.
Second, we learn to love by being loved unconditionally.
The principle: We may not always love those who serve us. Their love, depending on how it is given, can spoil us, or intimidate us, or even antagonize us. But unconditional, understanding, fully accepting love warms us without reservation and brings about our reciprocal love. And while we may not necessarily love those who serve us, we will love those whom we serve.
. A Friend.... (A)ccepts you as you
are (B)elieves in
"you" (C)alls you just to say
"HI" (D)oesn't give up ! ! on
you (E)nvisions the whole of you
(even the unfinished parts) (F)orgives your
mistakes (G)ives
unconditionally (H)elps you (I)nvites you
over (J)ust "be" with
you (K)eeps you close at
heart (L)oves you for who you
are (M)akes a difference in your
life (N)ever Judges (O)ffer support (P)icks you up (Q)uiets your
fears (R)aises your
spirits (S)ays nice things about
you (T)ells you the truth when you
need to hear it (U)nderstands you (V)alues you (W)alks beside
you (X)-plains thing you don't
understand (Y)ells when you won't listen
and (Z)aps you back to
reality
Individual and
personal caring that goes both beneath and beyond loyalty
and respect. Love for friends, neighbors, even
adversaries. And a prioritized, lifelong commitment of
love for family.
What are the
messages?
First, we learn to love by
serving others.
Second, we learn to love by
being loved unconditionally.
The principle: We may not
always love those who serve us. Their love, depending on
how it is given, can spoil us, or intimidate us, or even
antagonize us. But unconditional, understanding, fully
accepting love warms us without reservation and brings
about our reciprocal love. And while we may not
necessarily love those who serve us, we will love those
whom we serve.
Pray for your friends,
but by all means pray for your enemies. And don't pray
that they'll change; pray that you might change, from an
accusatory mind to a loving one. - Marianne
Williamson
Our son Josh was trying to decide on his "Eagle project" for Scouts. It was mid-winter and his Scout master mentioned that the local shelter was now providing beds for over two hundred helpless men. Josh decided to organize a big chili dinner for them. He recruited the other Scouts (actually the other Scouts' mothers) to make big pots of chili. He got rolls and fruit and punch donated by various individuals and let his brothers and sisters help out with the preparations. When the big night came, he watched with pride as the children served up chili in Styrofoam bowls to appreciative down-and-out men, who thanked them profusely and sat on their cots to eat. We watched the kids hand out rolls and carrots and apples and doughnuts. We watched the interactions and the looks of pity, of appreciation, of love. One man said he had once been an Eagle Scout himself and asked Josh if he could attend the Court of Honor when Josh got his Eagle. On the way home that night and for days thereafter, the kids talked about little else. And in their words were the insights of compassion and the tones of love for those they had served. - Linda
Christianity
"Let love be genuine; hold fast to what is good." - Bible, Romans 12:9
"So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - Bible, I Corinthians 13:13
"And above all things, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." - Bible, Colossians 3:14
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." - Bible, John 15:12
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1182-1226)
Born in Assisi, Italy, and given the name Giovanni, he was called Francis by his father, a successful cloth merchant who raised him to appreciate luxury. When he was twenty, Francis was taken a prisoner of war and underwent several religious experiences. As a result, he was taken a prisoner of war and underwent several religious experiences. As a result, he renounced his claim to his father's wealth or name and entered a life of poverty and service to others. He thought the church needed to return to the original message of Christ, which was to love all people and all creatures. A number of young men were inspired by his example and asked to join his way of life. In 1209, they presented their ideas for a new religious community to the Pope, and the order of Franciscans was formed. By 1223, he was spending more and more time in prayer and mediation, leaving the decisions about the order to others. His last two years were spent in constant pain and near blindness. He was canonized as a saint two years after his death.
FEBRUARY
- LOVE FEBRUARY - LOVE
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