{"id":67554,"date":"2025-06-20T17:22:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=67554"},"modified":"2025-06-27T19:44:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T00:44:49","slug":"love-for-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/love-for-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Love for Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter Five of Dilexit Nos<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This is the sixth in a series of reflections by Nathaniel Marx<\/a> on the final encyclical letter of Pope Francis, <\/em>Dilexit Nos<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nheyob, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Summary of the Law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs my Predecessor Leo XIII pointed out, through the image of his Sacred Heart, the love of Christ \u2018moves us to return love for love\u2019\u201d (DN 166<\/a>). Thus, without knowing that his successor would also choose the same name, Pope Francis took inspiration from Pope Leo for the final chapter of his final encyclical letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis conveys a clear message by quoting his predecessor\u2019s encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Christ\u2019s human and divine love calls us to fraternal love. While deeply personal, devotion to the Sacred Heart is not private or individual. The same must be said of all authentic teaching about Christian love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We need once more to take up the word of God and to realize, in doing so, that our best response to the love of Christ\u2019s heart is to love our brothers and sisters. There is no greater way for us to return love for love. The Scriptures make this patently clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me\u201d (Mt 25:40<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the whole law is summed up in a single commandment: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself\u2019\u201d (Gal 5:14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death\u201d (1 Jn 3:14<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen\u201d (1 Jn 4:20<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(DN 167<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Given the imperative of fraternal love that the Scriptures make \u201cpatently clear,\u201d it is not surprising that Francis found it necessary to intervene just a month before his death in \u201cthe major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportation.\u201d1<\/a><\/sup> His message to the bishops of the United States cites his earlier encyclical on human fraternity, Fratelli Tutti<\/em>, but it also echoes Dilexit Nos<\/em> in the corrective it offers to distorted notions of an ordo amoris<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Caring for vulnerable migrants is \u201cnot a minor issue,\u201d Francis says, because \u201cauthentic rule of law\u201d is founded on obedience to the commandment that sums up the whole of God\u2019s law (cf. Gal 5:14<\/a>).3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love in the Ruins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chapter five of Dilexit Nos<\/em> suggests that fraternal love is too often treated as a \u201cminor issue\u201d in both politics and spirituality. On the one hand, it is easy for people who enjoy relative safety and comfort to ignore or belittle the \u201cstructures of sin\u201d that benefit them at the expense of others. \u201cFrequently, this is part of a dominant mind-set that considers normal or reasonable what is merely selfishness and indifference\u201d (DN 183<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, many pious Christians denigrate efforts to repair \u201calienated social structures.\u201d Small gestures of charity seem to make no difference, and mass movements of solidarity are accused of manipulating Christian compassion to advance a secularist agenda. Francis counters both critiques by turning to John Paul II to define \u201cwhat it means to make reparation to the heart of Christ\u201d today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

He explained that by entrusting ourselves together to the heart of Christ, \u201cover the ruins accumulated by hatred and violence, the greatly desired civilization of love, the kingdom of the heart of Christ can be built.\u201d This clearly requires that we \u201cunite filial love for God and love of neighbor,\u201d and indeed this is \u201cthe true reparation asked by the heart of the Savior.\u201d (DN 182<\/a>)4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By further emphasizing \u201cthe social significance of reparation to the heart of Christ\u201d (DN 182<\/a>), Francis shows how this traditional pious exercise can be a model for authentic worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Christian message is attractive when experienced and expressed in its totality: not simply as a refuge for pious thoughts or an occasion for impressive ceremonies. What kind of worship would we give to Christ if we were to rest content with an individual relationship with him and show no interest in relieving the sufferings of others or helping them to live a better life? Would it please the heart that so loved us, if we were to bask in a private religious experience while ignoring its implications for the society in which we live? Let us be honest and accept the word of God in its fullness. (DN 205<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When reparation to the heart of Christ is expressed through fraternal love, the mystical and missionary dimensions of worship are mutually enriching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heart Repair<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The mystical \u201cbond between devotion to the heart of Jesus and commitment to our brothers and sisters has been a constant in the history of Christian spirituality\u201d (DN 172<\/a>). In chapter four, Francis mentioned the experience of many saints. Now, he adds the words of Origen, Ambrose, Bernard, Francis de Sales, Charles de Foucauld, and again Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These holy women and men were most overwhelmed by God\u2019s love when they perceived the possibility of loving others as Christ loves. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se, in particular, desired to become a \u201cmartyr\u201d of God\u2019s love. \u201cThis was not only about allowing the heart of Christ to fill her heart, through her complete trust, with the beauty of his love, but also about letting that love, through her life, spread to others and thus transform the world\u201d (DN 198<\/a>). For Th\u00e9r\u00e8se, the motive for making reparation to the heart of Jesus was not \u201cthe need to satisfy divine justice\u201d but the desire to be an instrument in \u201callowing the Lord\u2019s infinite love to spread freely\u201d (DN 196<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis recommends imitating Th\u00e9r\u00e8se\u2019s way of making reparation. \u201cActs of fraternal love\u201d require \u201csacrifices and sufferings,\u201d but they \u201cheal the wounds of the Church and of the world.\u201d This oblation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is simultaneously \u201ca freely accepted participation in his redeeming love and his one sacrifice\u201d (DN 200\u2013201<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dilexit Nos<\/em> describes participation in the redeeming love of Christ as a great mystery. \u201cWe can say that he has allowed the expansive glory of his resurrection to be limited and the diffusion of his immense and burning love to be contained, in order to leave room for our free cooperation with his heart.\u201d This limitation \u201cdoes not stem from any weakness on his part but rather from his infinite freedom, his mysterious power and his perfect love for each of us,\u201d for \u201cGod\u2019s power is revealed in the weakness of our human freedom\u201d (DN 193<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being weak, human freedom is more often misused, wounding hearts instead of healing them. The greatest saints perceive their own faults and recognize that fraternal love begins with \u201casking forgiveness from our brothers and sisters.\u201d Besides demonstrating \u201cgreat nobility amid our human weakness,\u201d asking forgiveness effects \u201ca sort of reversal, where the natural tendency to be indulgent with ourselves and inflexible with others is overturned.\u201d Here is another mystery of God\u2019s love, which works more powerfully through one who admits sin and weakness. \u201cA heart capable of compunction will grow in fraternity and solidarity\u201d (DN 189\u2013190<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mission of Love<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Francis concludes chapter five of Dilexit Nos<\/em> by \u201crecalling the missionary dimension of our love for the heart of Christ\u201d (DN 205<\/a>). Multiple religious congregations have dedicated themselves to spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If this only meant disseminating an external pious practice, it would have little value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

As we contemplate the Sacred Heart, mission becomes a matter of love. For the greatest danger in mission is that, amid all the things we say and do, we fail to bring about a joyful encounter with the love of Christ who embraces us and saves us. (DN 208<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Contemplation of the Sacred Heart, then, brings Francis back to the great theme of Evangelii Gaudium<\/em> and of his papacy. Joyful encounter with Christ is always the motive and goal of mission. Here in Dilexit Nos<\/em>, the pope wants to emphasize that our personal encounter with Jesus is always already communal. Mission is not \u201csharing Christ as something only between Jesus and me,\u201d for we always experience Jesus\u2019s call \u201cin fellowship with our communities and with the whole church\u201d (DN 212<\/a>). We encounter Jesus in our hearts when we respond to his request to meet him \u201cin every one of our brothers and sisters, and especially in the poor, the despised and the abandoned members of society\u201d (DN 213<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many modern popes have written about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This one sees the devotion as a way to spread the joy of the gospel. Before being called home to Christ, he exhorted us again to hear Christ calling to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Jesus is calling you and sending you forth to spread goodness in our world. His call is one of service, a summons to do good, perhaps as a physician, a mother, a teacher or a priest. Wherever you may be, you can hear his call and realize that he is sending you forth to carry out that mission. He himself told us, \u201cI am sending you out\u201d (Lk 10:3<\/a>). It is part of our being friends with him. For this friendship to mature, however, it is up to you to let him send you forth on a mission in this world, and to carry it out confidently, generously, freely and fearlessly\u2026 Never forget that Jesus is at your side at every step of the way. He will not cast you into the abyss, or leave you to your own devices. He will always be there to encourage and accompany you. He has promised, and he will do it: \u201cFor I am with you always, to the end of the age\u201d (Mt 28:20<\/a>). (DN 215<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Pope Francis, Letter to the Bishops of the United States of America<\/em>, February 10, 2025, no. 4. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Pope Francis, Letter to the Bishops of the United States of America<\/em>, February 10, 2025, no. 6. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Pope Francis, Letter to the Bishops of the United States of America<\/em>, February 10, 2025, no. 5. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Quoting John Paul II, Letter to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus<\/em>, Paray-le-Monial, October 5, 1986. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    NATHANIEL MARX \u2014 Pope Francis says the best way to receive love from the heart of Jesus is to spread it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":67597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,17,3496,3681,92,2224,3687,2480,187],"tags":[2067,4033,2710,3371,3074,3021,814,3015],"class_list":["post-67554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotions-and-sacramentals","category-liturgical-spirituality","category-liturgical-theology","category-mission","category-penance-reconciliation","category-pope-francis","category-prayer","category-secularism","category-social-justice","tag-devotions","tag-dilexit-nos","tag-evangelii-gaudium","tag-love","tag-mission","tag-pope-francis","tag-sacred-heart","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nLove for Love - 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