“whoever lives in truth comes to the light”

 
God is love. That love for us is everlasting and perfect. There is nothing we can do or say to repay that love. But God wants us; He wants all of a person, not just a part of them or part of their time. The passion that God has for us is unbelievable, but are we showing passion for God in return? Do we strive for our own passions or passion for the Lord? Why or why not?
 
Why would some people not have passion for God? As Jesus said, “people preferred darkness to light”[i]. This is nothing new; in the first reading we see God’s chosen people preferring darkness and being punished for it. Even the High Priests and leaders mocked God and the messengers He brought to them. God punished them with the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian Exile[ii].
 
Where do we see this in today’s society? We see more and more people leaving the Church and Christianity for the darkness. “It is a history which, in spite of so many bitter experiences, is still repeated today in the life of nations, families, and individuals. The more a man lets his passions dominate him, the more he closes himself to the word of God, rejects his messengers, distorts the truth, and suppresses the voice of his conscience, until he ends by living in discord with God, with himself, and with his neighbor.”[iii]
 
If God is a loving God, why does He punish us? God does not punish someone until He has exhausted every avenue possible to get through to the person. It is like a parent who tries to speak to their child and correct them before having to punish them. “…now God punishes us only after he has exhausted the last resources of his infinite love. ‘God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ’[iv].”[v] This Scripture quote is from today’s second reading. St. Paul is saying that “instead of punishing the sins of ungrateful man in man himself, who is always falling back into sin, he punishes man’s sin in his only Son, so that by believing in Christ crucified, man may find salvation.”[vi]
 

Another thing to remember is that God is merciful and just. He did not come to condemn us, because we condemn ourselves when we follow darkness and wickedness. “For everyone who does wicked toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”[vii] If we have a passion for God and live in the light of Christ, we will not be condemned because we are following His grace and mercy. Those who turn away from God have sold their souls to the wicked and thus condemn themselves.
 
How does one follow darkness? Power, the flesh, and the world are three things that Satan hides in the darkness of. Someone may think, “I’m a pretty good person. I go to Church on Sundays. I pray and treat people nicely.” But God desires more from us. To follow the light means to follow it with a passion. St. James saw the lure of the world and the darkness during his time. He wrote, “Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”[viii] This is why you might see a sign that says “John 3:16” at a sports game. It is to remind us that while sports and other worldly things are important, we should not love them with our whole hearts, for our hearts were made to God. What things of this world that I’m in love with do I need to let go of?
 
How can we have passion for God? We must be the new evangelization for the twenty-first century. We must rekindle a passion for God and bring light to all the darkness in this world. Grace and faith are free gifts from God. “Yet for two thousand years this gift has been at hand for all mankind; in order to benefit from it, we have only to believe in Christ, accepting salvation from him and adhering to his gospel.”[ix] From the moment we wake to the moment we go to sleep, we should be looking for ways to show our love and appreciation to God. We do this by loving Jesus Christ, His Church, the Magisterium, the Sacred Scriptures, and Sacred Tradition that have been passed down to us. We do this by loving God with our whole mind, body, heart, and soul and by loving our neighbor as our self. “In actual fact we can never go too far in accepting it [his love and mercy] with the gratitude and faith and love it deserves.”[x] What is one thing I can do everyday to show my passion for God to myself and to others?

How is having passion for God, living out what we believe? Living out what we profess in the Apostles Creed? The Apostles Creed is Trinitarian; this means that it states our belief in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. How does each of the persons of the Blessed Trinity show and “love” not “punishment”?

God, the Father – He is the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. He is our Father, a loving Father that is our source of nourishment and protection. Why did He create earth? Why did He create us? Out of love. He created us out of love and wanted to share His creation and His love with us. Think of a Father that buys a new car. The Father wants to share the car with his family and friends; he wants others to share in what he has. God is the Father, almighty and He wants to share with us, all that is His.

Search: Holy Trinity: Eternal Exchange of Love
 
Jesus, the Son – In giving His one and only Son, who is consubstantial (of the same substance) of the Father, God shares Himself with us. Not only does He share all that He made with us, but also He shares all that He is with us, giving us the opportunity to share in the Divine Life, now and for all eternity. This gift of self is expressed most perfectly on the Cross and is perpetuated at every Mass.

What did it mean for God to become man and share in humanity? Read the Spiritual Reading for Saint Leo the Great’s reflection on this. The Church also tells us, "For, by his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, in a certain way united himself with each man.  He worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind.  He acted with a human Will, and with a human heart he loved.  Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things except sin.”[xi]

ACTIVITY – The humanity and love of Jesus
 

The paintings above are two familiar depictions of Our Lord and Lady in art. It is very powerful to meditate on them separately. The first painting can be held up or projected in front of the group and the group can be asked to meditate on the humanity of Christ in His mother’s arms. At this time of meditation the quote above from the Second Vatican Council can be read or even the Spiritual Reading in this packet can be read. After some time, the second picture can be held up or projected and time can be given for a second meditation. Notice in the second painting how The Blessed Virgin Mary is completely embracing her Son. Will we do the same?

The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. God is love. Jesus is the beloved. The Holy Spirit is the shared love of the Father and the Son. This shared love is extended to all humanity, when “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’” [xii]This prayer of Christ is prayed each night by the Church during Compline (Night Prayer) when we the Body of Christ do as Christ did, “Commend our spirit into the hands of God.” The Holy Spirit was given to us at Pentecost. Jesus foretold this at the Last Supper, when He said, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” [xiii] Where is this “truth” found today? The world and each individual soul is in need and indeed searching for this “truth” which Christ gives. Saint Paul writes to Saint Timothy, “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” [xiv] The “truth” which Christ gives is indeed found in the church, which is the pillar and foundation of truth.

This is why at the end of the Creed, after professing faith in God, the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, we then profess faith in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We have seen how the Father, Son and Spirit share love.  How does the Church share love? The Church in today’s liturgy is described as the New Jerusalem. The Entrance Antiphon says, “Rejoice, O Jerusalem; and gather round all you who love her; Rejoice in gladness after having been in sorrow; Exult and be replenished with the consolation flowing from her motherly bosom.” The Church is a loving Mother, who gathers her children, who love her. The children were in sorrow but now can exult and have consolation and be replenished from the Churches motherly bosom.  What is a motherly bosom? Bosoms are breasts. Yes, the Church used the image of children being nourished and replenished from a mother’s breasts. This nourishment and replenishing comes from the liturgy, Sacraments, teaching, prayers, etc. that flow (no pun intended) from the Church.
 

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[i] Jn. 3:19
[ii] 2 Chron. 36:15-16
[iii] Divine Intimacy Vol. II pg. 68
[iv] Eph. 2:4-5
[v] Divine Intimacy Vol. II pg. 69
[vi] Divine Intimacy Vol. II pg. 69
[vii] Jn. 3:20-21
[viii] Js. 4:4
[ix] Divine Intimacy Vol. II pg. 69
[x] Divine Intimacy Vol. II pg. 69
[xi] -------Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,Gaudium et Spes, 22
[xii] Luke 23:46
[xiii] John 16:13
[xiv] 1 Timothy 3:15
[xv] Psalm 146; Liturgy of the Hours; Week IV; Wednesday, Morning Prayer