Love vs. True Love

    Today's reading is a tough one for us to hear! We are told to yea, love our friends and our fellow brothers and sisters within our own belief circles, but we are also told to do something so crazy and so against anything that society tells us to do in our world......"Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you..." Ummmm.... what was that Jesus? How can I love someone who hates me? Someone who would rather not even know me at all? Someone who attacks my ego or me physically? How are we supposed to follow this when growing up and on t.v. we only see "Hate your enemies and attack them?"

    Well, it may not be easy, and it may be somewhat out of reach due to our humanness, but that does not mean we can not at least try daily and do our best at it. So here is how Jesus tells us to do this, are you ready? Jesus says, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Ok. ok. ok. Ummm.... Jesus like whoa! We need to be perfect just like our heavenly Father is perfect? What does this mean? That we can't sin? That we can't do anything wrong? Well, maybe, but let us be realistic, we fail and fall into sin every day and most of the people reading this are probably falling into some kind of sin reading this. That is not a shot at anyone, but just the reality of who we are as humans. Here is the take I am getting on this difficult reading to hear today!

    Jesus is telling us that we need to come to this perfect love, the love that God has for each one of His sons and daughters. If you are Baptized, you are a son or daughter, but check this out, even if you are not Baptized and do not even believe in God, you are still a son or daughter of God! Ever human being is created from the same creator, GOD. He has made every single one of us in the image and likeness of HIM! Therefore in reading this, we look at what Jesus is really telling us. God loves all of us! No matter what your political, moral, financial levels are, you are loved by God in such a beautiful way that He sent Jesus down to 1. get us to stop killing each other (We missed that memo) 2. and most important, to save us from a life and world that is totally lacking love! It may be difficult to see love in this world, but just go to a Mass and check out the world missions going on in this world. People really do love each other in this world.

    Love is that thing that we call an emotion, but is really not one. You see, the love that a husband and wife should experience is more than something that has an expiration date. This is why we believe that divorce is really impossible if you take a vow, now obviously in certain cases the couple never should have gotten married, but our love in marriage is that of God's love that He has for each one of us! His love for you is so incredible that words are not possible to explain it.

    Love is not a feeling or an emotion in the eyes of God or the Church. It is not something that comes and goes. Love is the dedication to God and whoever you are in love with! Love is going through the easy and tough times. People this is what I think Jesus is telling us, well at least me today... We need to stand up against what society considers Love! We as humans have redefined it from being a lifestyle to being an emotion and only giving that love to people we like or who have the same mentality as we do! This also doesn't mean that we need to always agree with our brothers and sisters on all topics, but we should respect each other to a point that it never leads to violence! So today, let us take time to think of all those people we hurt out of hatred and if you can, call them up and say sorry, but if not offer up some time of prayer for each one of them.