{"id":60985,"date":"2022-11-06T12:10:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-06T18:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=60985"},"modified":"2022-11-16T11:14:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T17:14:13","slug":"paschal-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/06\/paschal-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Paschal Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

In my teaching about the Paschal Mystery, I emphasize that the point of Jesus\u2019 suffering was not his suffering as such but that in and through that suffering Jesus continued to love others (his Father, and, in Luke 23:34, asking forgiveness from the Father for those crucifying the Son).\u00a0 We talk in my classes about how God\u2019s saving plan involves forming men and women into a people, a community (Lumen Gentium <\/em>9).\u00a0 Community requires self-offering love on the part of its members.\u00a0 No one joins a club whose motto is \u201cEach of us looks out for No. 1.\u201d\u00a0 Though the divine mandate to love others is binding on each and every person in each and every circumstance, when I engage in love of others I make it easier for them, in turn, to be loving.\u00a0 When I am ill, is it easier for me to love others when they extend care to me or when they ignore my illness?\u00a0 When I am tired, is it easier for me to love others when they offer to help me with my burden or when they add to my burden?\u00a0 In short, in and through loving others we find our truest selves (Gaudium et spes<\/em> 24) and whatever else this means, it means capacitating others to be self-offering in turn.<\/p>\n

All of this comes to mind in view of a session I had recently with parents of children preparing for First Penance.\u00a0 As we talked about sin and free will, a parent asked about her child.\u00a0 It seems that when the parent asked the child if there was anything the child wanted to mention in Penance, the child simply said no.\u00a0 The parent asked what she should do.\u00a0 I was initially at a loss until I recalled the emphasis I place on self-offering love when I am teaching college students.\u00a0 Perhaps, then, a good question for an examination of conscience is this: Have I done anything that made it harder for people to love others?\u00a0 Harder to love me?<\/p>\n

The sacrament of Penance is a celebration of God\u2019s steadfast love and mercy.\u00a0 Recapacitated by this celebration, being assured of God\u2019s love, may we find it easier in turn to take up once more the task of self-offering love by which the Body of Christ (and the human community at large) lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one joins a club whose motto is \u201cEach of us looks out for No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":60986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3119,255,17,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","category-children","category-liturgical-spirituality","category-penance-reconciliation"],"yoast_head":"\nPaschal Love - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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