Where do I spend my thoughts, time, talents and treasures? Yep, we can all admit that we have things that we really love… myself included. We look forward with great anticipation to vacations, windsurfing and boating adventures, a good game of golf or tennis, a good romance novel, wine, dinner out, shopping for a new outfit for a special occasion or even just shopping for the fun of it. (Guilty as charged.)
None of our favorite things or activities are necessarily bad or even sinful in themselves, but do we balance our time, attention (and money) for “thing love” with our priority to work on our “people love”? Do we ever use “thing love” as an escape from “people love”?
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
John 15:12
When our investment in the things we love outweighs our attention and time spent to love and care for others, there is an imbalance in the way God wants us to really love. Are we consumers or are we lovers first? We consume things and activities that we really love, but they may in turn consume us and alienate us from others if we do not work to keep our lives and what we love in balance.
“There’s nothing new about the idea that consumption doesn’t lead to happiness—that concept is a mainstay of just about every religion, and many philosophical traditions as well. Arguably, Karl Marx’s greatest insight came from his theory of alienation, in part defined as a sense of estrangement from the self that comes from being part of a materialistic society in which we are cogs in an enormous market-based machine.” (Arthur C. Brooks Are we Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts? The Atlantic.com, October 22, 2020)
We love because he first loved us.
1 Jn 4:19
We consume the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass as a means to feed our souls and remind us that we are made to love others and to care for those in need as Christ cares for us. It is easy to love our favorite things but sometimes hard to love people…even people in our own families. Christ is there to help us.
Real love without expectations includes caring for people who have hurt us or with whom we disagree or people of other traditions and cultures…and especially those people who we never expect will “return the favor”. We are called to His higher Love, but higher love takes work. It is not frivolous, impulsive or self-gratifying. Real “people love” requires consistent focus and determination to be open, kind, forgiving and sometimes even uncomfortable.
Pope Francis calls us to spend time with people in the margins. Do we visit someone who doesn’t get visitors in places like prison, a hospital or assisted living? Do we give to the poor or volunteer for a food distribution or soup kitchen?
St. Isidore offers many opportunities for us to care for others in need including Knights of Columbus events, St. Vincent De Paul and Baby Pantry, Forgotten Harvest Distribution and our annual Summer MCREST experience. If you are looking for a way to get more involved close to home, we have something right here for you to really love.
It all comes down to this, Love God, Love people.
Danny Gokey