Where love exists, it works great things. St. Gregory the Great

Love is the strongest force the world possesses. St. Maria Faustina

These two quotes are good reminders of love as a mysterious force that literally “makes the world go round”: in the subatomic world as well as in outer space. To use today’s language, it is kind of “force field”, similar in nature to that of gravity. Love does “work” according to St. Gregory, and just as we can only “know” gravity by its effects (as Newton realized after that apple fell on him), so it is with love. Fr. Richard Rohr puts it well:  love is the “engine” of our earthly existence.

Unlike gravity, however, love does not work independently of peoples’ choices: ask anyone who has suffered a broken bone because of “gravity”! There is nothing magical about choosing love; rather it is a kind of opening or closing to the always present work of Grace. Though other creatures have circumscribed choice so that they may survive, as humans we have the capacity not merely to survive, but to participate in the work of love: to thrive rather than merely survive.

There are many famous examples of the power and fruitfulness of love: Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa come to mind. Yet a focus on the well-known could serve to lower the bar for ourselves (“That’s fine for them, but I could never accomplish the great things they have done”)  It’s hard to imagine a situation in which there are no opportunities to harness “love energy”, including the infinite number of ways of doing “little things with great love”.

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We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more. St. Joseph Cafasso

I recall seeing a movie many years ago which ends with the parting of two friends. In the dialogue, one says to the other “Just remember the one thing”. When his friend asks, “What is that?”, the other fellow says, “That’s what you have to figure out” and rides off on his horse.  I suspect we know how St. Joseph Cafasso would have answered: the only reason we are here to grow in love, right from the moment of our birth.

When meeting someone new, most people will tend to describe themselves in relation to work, family, friendship, and community circles. I think it would be very rare for someone to immediately respond, “I am the beloved of God and my purpose in life is to grow in love” (It’s a non-starter in most contexts!). Unless you don’t mind being completely alone at a gathering, such direct preaching not only doesn’t work and may well compromise the high ideals one hopes to witness.

There’s a saying, “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one”. I think it what St. captures what St. Cafasso is saying and is beautifully expressed in a hymn based on St. Paul’s writings, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love

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When we lack charity, we impair the roots of the tree of life, endangering its existence. St. Padre Pio.

Love is the greatest gift that one generation can leave to another. St. John Paul II

Love is the greatest force that transforms and heals the soul of the world. St. John of the Cross

These three Saints are expressing their sense of the organic quality of love and its lack can be felt as as a force of destruction and death, in contrast to the sustaining, healing, and transformative power of love. Yes, even the smallest act of love affects the wholeness of things, as does its absence. 

Consider the impact of war on the families of those who participate in the conflict—the dead and those who suffer PTSD. I have yet to hear or read about war as an exercise of love, though it is often dressed up in the colours of patriotism and dogmas of religion. For example, think of the ongoing impact or the atrocities of the Holocaust, seventy years later. Think of those who mourn the loss of son, brother, sister, cousin, or parent and how the impact of one death can extend to the generations that follow. Now consider how wars are often about the need for revenge against a country that had committed specific atrocities against it—even if those who participated in the initial war have all passed away. In stark contrast, we read St. Pope John-Paul’s reminder of how love, not hate or revenge, may also be passed on generationally.  

Yet one must also remain mindful of how some people’s actions in times of war are loving:  providing care for the wounded and the dying, families offering their homes as refuge, countries  welcoming those displaced by the conflicts. Might it be that such actions have served as a countervailing force against war’s sins against love, saving our world from complete annihilation?

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It is love alone that gives worth to all things. St. Lawrence of Brindsi

Let divine love be the motive for all our actions. Bl Maria Del Transito Cabanillas de Jesus Sacramentado

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. St. Paul the Apostle

Motivation is complex and complicated. Psychologists continue to plumb its depths and I suspect it will remain an elusive aspect of the human psyche and involves freedom, unconscious forces, biology, sobriety, and so on.

Yet these three saints are telling us that we should aspire to have love as a kind of “prime motive” for what we do. Do you change your baby’s diaper out of love, or out of a sense of “duty”? Do you loan your neighbor a tool as a kind of insurance that he will reciprocate with a loan at some future time? Do you send a cheque to a relief organization because if lessens guilt for your good fortune? In truth, we ultimately don’t know the “true” nature of our motivations. I’m reminded of the adage that the biggest lies are the ones we tell ourselves. 

So how does one strive to do things for the sake of love? It seems that an important place to start is with honesty towards oneself.  Though the outcome could be disconcerting, it is a critical first step. Acknowledging what’s really going on inside is an excellent prayer point, especially when accompanied by a humble openness to the grace of Divine love. St. Therese of Lisieux states “Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father’s love—difficulties, contradictions, humiliations, all the soul’s miseries…because through them [one] learns humility.” It’s a recognition that in this plane of existence, achieving purity of motive is not possible yet it is the most important “work” of a lifetime.

It once again gets down to choice, as limited as our “window of choice” may be, given the uniqueness of our experiences, biology, mental health, and many other factors.  I do believe it is possible to develop—over time—a kind of loving stance towards reality, akin to using a compass (or GPS) to help keep us on the way to where we’re going.  It’s about asking oneself throughout the day, “How loving is what I am doing/saying/thinking ?”. I would caution you not to overthink the questions; rather, connect with your heart centre. It “knows” at some deep and unexplainable level the extent to which we are primarily motivated by love.