The faculty at the seminary after Vatican II were confused. I remember Fr. Gilbert preaching a sermon with this memorable line: You can love, love, love until the cows come home but you’ve still got to keep the commandments. My guess is that he imagined that the call to gospel love in the air in those heady post-council days was somehow soft or squishy compared with commandment keeping. As the gospel of St. John makes clear the exact opposite is the case. Love is a commandment and a very specific one: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” To love like Jesus requires forgiving those who betray you, reconciling with those who abandon you, healing those who are hurting. That’s hard!
MAY192017
By Church Staff
