Posts Tagged ‘Religious Views On Love’
Christian Love: Why Selfishness and “Stinking Thinking” Make Us Miserable
Christian love is the key of Catholic spirituality. Our first calling is to love God with our whole hearts, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. But it’s too easy to relegate love to a broad, vapid sense of well-being while still remaining selfish and self-centered at heart. My “favorite flavor” of…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues: So What is True Human Love Anyway?
OK, so what is true human love? Which Greek idea of love best fits the human heart? Many would say Philios, which isn’t a bad answer. After all, the Greeks called Philios the highest form of human love, right? Others would say that after Jesus, Agape is the best fit for the human heart. That’s…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Fully Understanding Human Love (Charity)
English speakers are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to fully understanding human love. Our language only admits to one kind of love. When I teach young people about sexuality, love and chastity I illustrate this point by telling them: I love chocolate. I love my truck. I love my wife. Then…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues: to Love as Jesus Loves (Charity)
The theological virtues empower us to have a relationship with God. But they do this by building on human nature with the supernatural gifts of grace. So far we have explored human aspects of love. Eros, storge, and philios are human forms of love. Grace strengthens these types of love. But this last form of…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Human Love & Friendship (Charity)
The Theological Virtues are like muscles. We receive them from God. But we have to exercise them to keep them and to strengthen them. Human love doesn’t just happen to us. We need to consciously strengthen it and nurture it. In this article we continue to answer what role emotions and desires play in human…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Emotion, Desire and Human Love (Charity)
The Theological Virtues are like muscles. We receive them from God. But we have to exercise them to keep them and to strengthen them. Human love doesn’t just happen to us. We need to consciously strengthen it and nurture it. What role do emotions and desires play in human love? Are the theological virtues related…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Are You Following the Greatest Commandments?
“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues. The theological virtues of hope and faith are at the service of the theological virtue of charity. The very purpose ofthe theological virtues of hope – to teach us to trust –…
Read MoreLiving the Theological Virtues and Embracing Your School of Love
God calls each of us to our vocation to help us grow in the theological virtues. We are called within our specific vocation to grow in our general vocation. Pope John Paul II called the family the “school of love.” He referred mainly to the fact that children learn what it means to love from…
Read MoreGrowing in Theological Virtues: Love and God’s Family (Charity)
“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues. Hope and faith are at the service of charity. The very purpose of hope – to teach us to trust – and of faith – to give us intimacy – is to…
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