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PAGE 5-May 10, 1973
God Loves Us With an Everlasting Love
“ORDINARILY LOVE DOES NOT STOP THERE.
It often leads to marriage, the seal on the mutual
affection and commitment of the lovers to one
another.” A bride and groom pledge their love on the
steps of an elegant church in New Orleans in this
specially screened photo. (NC Photo by Frank Methe)
BY FATHER QUENTIN QUESNELL, S.J.
Can God fall in love? If he did, could his love be blind? If it
was, would it be infinitely blind?
Who would dare suggest such things? God to us means
infinite perfection. His love for his creatures merely appreciates
that same perfection in other forms. When God loves his
creatures, he recognizes the image of his own perfection
reflected in them. In loving us, God admires his own handiwork.
But we could hardly imagine God loving us as if he were
really being attracted to someone or something outside himself.
We can’t think of him loving us in the way that one of us “falls
in love” with another. Those notions seem to violate our basic
idea of what God is.
So much for our “basic idea.” Whatever the reason, God in
fact has chosen to describe himself frequently in the Bible as a
passionate and even foolish lover. As God tells his own story, he
blindly pursues an unworthy object-ourselves. And even
repeated bad experiences with us never succeed in teaching him
to give us up.
The classical scriptural passages are Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2
and 3, the Song of Songs, and the book of Hosea. In these and
many other passages of the Bible, the same themes recur and
anyone can read them.
God tells his own love story. It extends over many years --
more than the years of any one of our lives. He says he was
attracted to us before we had any idea he existed. He sent gifts
to us to attract our attention and try to win our affection. We
took the gifts, we used and enjoyed them.
Sometimes we just threw them away. But we did notlet him
win our hearts. Sometimes we gave those gifts to others whom
we found more attractive than our divine Lover. Sometimes we
used his gifts to buy other loves we yearned for.
But God never let us go in peace. He kept after us, kept
coming back, begging for our love. Sometimes he grew deeply
hurt and even angry with us. Then perhaps he struck us and
drove us away for a time.
Sometimes that little harshness proved to be just what we
needed most. At such times we often began to pay more
attention to him as we began to experience how cold and
hungry we were without him.
But each time, no sooner would he take us back and again
offer us forgiveness, security and love, than we would turn
worse than before. We would take gifts from others as well as
from him. We sold our love for unworthy petty objects. We gave
our love away on the streets.
Each time, God would again set out and wander in search of
us, crying out after us, whom he continued to love so well.
God is the lover and bridegroom who made an unfortunate
choice of a wife. We are the faithless, untrustworthy bride to
whom he committed himself and to whom he always remains
faithful and whom he always forgives, always trusts anew,
always will love.
We would never have written such a story about God. If it
did not appear in his own Word, we would not dare to believe
such things about him. Even when he assures us they are true,
the thought of such an overpowering love can frighten and
disconcert us.
But is is true. And since Christ came, we have even more than
a spoken word to assure us of it. In Christ we see that foolish
love and the profitless end of death on a cross to which it
brought him. “This is how we know what love is-Christ gave his
life for us.” I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
“WE BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE how cold and down a cold street near a restaurant and liquor store,
hungry we were without him.” A man walks alone (NC Photo by George R. Cassidy)
God-
Bridegroom!
BY BROTHER JAMES P. CLIFTON, C.F.X.
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[Know Y our F ailh j
Religion Education Should Be Joyful Experience
“You’re nobody till somebody loves you.” These opening
lyrics of a once-popular song express one way of describing
human love.
In a sense, the sentiment of these words goes a bit beyond
the ordinary “moon-spoon” romanticism of lesser lyrics. They
state the impact of love on the person loved. For the first time
perhaps he or she feels like someone because someone else has
singled him or her out of the crowd as lovable. The joy of such
recognition and affection can bring a feeling of self-importance
and worth perhaps for the first time.
Ordinarily, love does not stop there. It often leads to
marriage, the seal on the mutual affection and commitment of
the lovers to one another. Within the shared experiences of
married life, two nobodys can grow to even more mature
somebodys-going beyond the first joy of self-recognition. Love
is like that; it increases us and draws out all of those things that
lie dormant within us.
Because of the centrality and significance of love in human
experience, it is not surprising that God used it to describe his
relations with men. But he did not stop simply with the
emotion and effects of love; he used the symbolism of marriage
to represent his devotion and commitment to those he loves.
And so his People, Israel and the Church, are his bride, and as
the Bridegroom he constantly showers her with affection and
signs of devotion.
His love, however, is different. In the most profound sense,
his love made nothing into somethings and somebodys by a
creative word. Deserted and betrayed by his lovers, he entered
over and over again into new marriages with them.
As a matter of fact, he never rescinded that initial contract
and never stopped loving what was good in his creation. Finally,
unlike all human love and marriage which looks to some benefit
to both lovers, God is totally unselfish and generous. All he asks
is a return of the gift of love which he first gave. At the same
time, he is a jealous lover, demanding undivided and lasting
devotion.
Our times have seen a renewed preoccupation with love as
central to human and humane living. And despite a lot of
slogan-making and shoddy expressions of love, we have become
more aware of true and shallow love, the ways it can grow or
turn to hate, but above all the enormous challenge it presents to
the openness that is the basis of human and spiritual growth.
For all of this concern about love we should be thankful. If we
know a bit more about what love really means and demands of
us, this can certainly enrich our relations with one another and
with God.
Conversely, this same awareness about authentic love and
loving has made us conscious of how loveless the world is.
Racial, social and economic injustice, war, violence, family and
institutional indifference and selfishness, even the sometimes
bitter polarization within the Church have caused men to
despair of finding love and even to be cynical where they find it.
Perhaps the greatest enigma and scandal is that so many speak
of love of God and show little love for their brothers and sisters
around them, as if the two could be separated.
This last point is intimately connected with our
Bridegroom-God. He loves unequivocally his Bride and calls for
love in return. But he also demands that we love those who
constitute the Bride; otherwise, what we call love of God can be
so individualistic and limited as to be no love at all. In the great
commandment of love men are asked to love the Bride just as
they love the Bridegroom. Nothing less.
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
A religion teacher I know made a unique resolution at the
beginning of her year of teaching fifth graders. She resolved that
no matter how she might feel during religion class she would
genuinely try to make the youngsters sense she was happy to be
with them. Anyone with any teaching experience realized how
difficult this simple resolution can become week after week.
Admitting to some failures during the year she generally
Succeeded in communicating an honest joy at being with the
children. More often than not a smile greeted each child.
At year’s end she asked the children to write down what they
remembered most from the whole year of religion classes. To
the teacher’s astonishment almost every child mentioned in one
way or other that what was most memorable was that she
seemed to be happy to see them each class.
Her experience suggests to me an important dimension of
catechesis, whether it be at home, in school, or during the
liturgy. Joy is a key to meaningful religious education. Learning
about God and the meaning of life is meant to be a happy
experience, even if at times it may be difficult and painful.
BY FATHER JOSEPH M. CHAMPLIN
A few days ago I had an extremely close brush with
death-and one hour to prepare for it.
It happened on a Monday morning on a commuter flight
from Philadelphia to Trenton. I was enroute to Princeton
Theological Seminary for my weekly graduate course in liturgy
and had as companions 7 other veteran air travelers. We were
fortunate to have as pilots two men quite young, but
competent, most professional and remarkably cool under
pressure.
At 9:20 our plane approached the small Mercer County
airport in Trenton, then zoomed up and circled away from the
field. “Folks, we’re having trouble with our landing gear, but we
will be talking with maintenance on the ground and keep you
informed.”
Twenty minutes later we were finally cleared for a low sweep
of the Northeast Philadelphia airport. This gave ground
personnel a chance to observe the belly of our turboprop
Beechcraft. “It appears our front wheel is in position, but the
two main ones are not. We’re going to circle for awhile.”
Frowns and worry grew deeper and palms a bit more sweaty.
The first visible, but not verbal signs of passenger concern soon
came. A man in front pulled out the plastic “For Your Safety”
cards and looked over my head to note the red “exit” sign.
Across the aisle, a man took out a pad of yellow paper and
In the very first book written on Christian education, St.
Augustine in the fourth century signalled out the teacher’s
joyful spirit as the second most important attitude of the
successful catechist. The first requisite was love, which is
creative of joy. Augustine writes in his FIRST CATECHETICAL
INSTRUCTION:
“The thread of our discourse is affected by the very joy that
we ourselves experience, and as a consequence is delivered more
easily and received more gratefully . . .our chief concern is what
means we should adopt to ensure that the catechizer enjoys his
work; for the more he is able to do so, the more agreeable will
he prove.
Augustine’s insight, drawn from his own experience as a
catechist has been confirmed by religious educators through the
centuries. Both the GENERAL CATECHETICAL DIRECTORY
(No. 53) and the American Bishops’ BASIC TEACHINGS FOR
CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (No. 2) indicate the
close relationship between insight into the reality of God’s love
and the experience of joy.
Knowing God, recognizing his gracious involvement in our
lives, is a “source of joy.” Learning about God’s goodness
began a (last?) letter to his wife.
I thought and prayed. Not furiously in panic, just a bit more
seriously. “Well, Lord, Bill Philbin’s work as a priest with the
permanent dioconate program in Washington was as important
as mine, and he crashed to his death at Chicago’s Midway.
Perhaps this is the moment you want my efforts to end.”
Regret for my sins. Gratitude for good things done. An act of
contrition (glad I went to confession the week before). A prayer
to St. Jude. I had finished a rosary early that morning in the
drive from rectory to airport, but decided on another.
Around 10:00, the pilot spoke to us briefly: “We’re going to
circle for about an hour before we attempt the landing to use up
our fuel. It may come sooner, but no later than an hour. We’ll
let you know.”
Billy Graham, I read once, uses his air trips as an
opportunity to speak, preach and spiritually assist fellow
passengers. I would feel awkward doing that and yet wondered
in these circumstances if I shouldn’t offer my services for the
others. It might well be a final opportunity for some to
confess, to make peace with God. I finally overcame my
reluctance, awkwardly stumbled up the aisle and mentioned to
each I was a Catholic priest, and would be glad to assist in any
way possible.
Acknowledgment. Nods of appreciation. Grateful words.
But no takers.
Around and around we went, looking at the field below,
“should awaken joy,” for his is the “love of a father, the love of
a spouse.”
The Bishop’s final allusion to God’s love as that of a
“spouse” echoes a recurring biblical theme. Beginning with the
prophet Hosea and running through to the very last chapters of
the new Testament, God, and then Jesus, is referred to as the
“Bridegroom”. The image is always evocative of joy, because it
recalls the intimately personal love God has for each individual
as well as for his chosen people.
Unless the religious educator communicates a sense of deep
joy, people may rightfully question whether what he believes
and teaches is really “good news.” Joy, a mark of the Holy
Spirit’s presence (Gal. 5:22), cannot substitute for sound
doctrine or honest intellectual investigation in religious
education. But the teacher’s joy in what he or she has to share is
an obvious factor in making doctrine credible and intellectual
effort worth while.
Each catechist might do well to reflect on whether he really
is happy to see those he is teaching, whether he shares with his
students a personal joy in his faith. A serious resolution to work
at making religion education a joyful experience is not far from
the very heart of becoming a more successful catechist.
Second Life
seeing the fire trucks, police cars, a growing crowd of people.
The fateful hour had nearly ended when a man rose, walked
back to my seat and asked if I would hear his confession. He
half sat, knelt in the back and after a few words his voice
broke, the first noticeable crack in an otherwise emotionally
restrained hour.
“We’re going to make two trial passes over the runway
before the real thing.” Just prior to the final approach I asked
the passengers if they would care to say the Lord’s Prayer
together. Since there seemed to be no opposition, I lead them
in it, and muttered a vocal prayer for our safe landing.
Arms together. Head down. Everyone braced against the
seat in front. Engines cut, a silent glide, then bump, pause,
bump, a seemingly endless (1500’) slide on the hard pavement,
crunch, plane stopped, all quiet, a nervous, hesitant peek to
see if we are on fire. “Open up the emergency windows and
get out of here.”
Away from the plane we realized it was over. James
Strader, a United States Steel lawyer from Pittsburgh who
wrote that letter to his wife, threw a briefcase 20 feet into the
air, embraced me and said, “The Lord Jesus Christ was with
us. Father, may we meet one day in heaven.” All of us,
strangers, probably never to meet again, smiled, laughed, and
spontaneously clasped one another.
We were free. Like a baby after Baptism. And we felt the
elation of a sinner after forgiveness, of a Catholic after
Communion, of a Christian on Easter Sunday. A second life
had, for us, just begun.
A Brush with Death-Then