Christ came to this world to teach us about God's never-ending love: Christ's love, the Father's love, the Spirit's love, one love for us. For when we see Christ, we see the Father. When we hear Christ tell us he loves us, the Father and the Holy Spirit love us too. One Love. One community of Love. One never-ending Dance of Divine Love.
Mother Teresa says that Christ tells you:
"I know you through and through – I know everything about you. The very hairs of your head I have numbered. Nothing in your life is unimportant to me, I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you – even in your wanderings. I know every one of your problems. I know your need and your worries. And yes, I know all your sins. But I tell you again that I love you – not for what you have or haven’t done – I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity my Father gave you by creating you in his own image."(from "The Living Spirit.")
Christ's love for you will last forever. Christ will never withdraw his love for you, never wound you by stopping loving you. Christ's arms are always open. You're the one who chooses whether to walk into his embrace, or walk away.
What a profound mystery Christ's divine love for us is! There is no human being in our lives who has loved us so perfectly. We do stupid or selfish things, and people are angry with us, fight with us, or give us the "cold shoulder." Not Christ. Christ's Love is faithful. Sometimes people even reject us for reasons we don't understand. Not Christ - Christ listens to us day and night, comforts us, strengthens us.
Yes, God, and God's love for us, is a profound Mystery, a mystery we will think about, carry in our hearts, and understand in deeper and deeper ways for our entire lives. Richard Rohr says,
"Remember, mystery isn't something that you cannot understand - it is something that you can endlessly understand! There is no point at which you can say, 'I've got it.' Always and forever, mystery gets you!"
Christ is endlessly saying to you, "I love you and I give myself to you." He's proved his love for you, for all of us, by everything that he's done for us! He gave himself for others for his entire life, a life of reaching out to everyone, telling them that their Father loved them, teaching them, healing them. Reaching out to people even when he was tired. Reaching out to people even when he was hungry. Reaching out to people even when they didn't understand him.
Christ is still alive, still present, still reaching out to you, still teaching you, still telling you that God loves you personally, still healing you in all the ways you need healing. Christ breathes into you his Holy Spirit Who keeps on reminding you that Christ loves you, knows you through and through, and will never abandon you.
Christ is endlessly saying to you, "I give myself to you." He gave himself for you when when he chose to die on the cross for you, even though he was innocent of every charge leveled at him. Do you know anyone else who has proved his love for you by dying for you? Do you know anyone else who rose from the dead to prove to you - you! that one day you will rise from the dead?
Christ gave himself to you the day before his death when he told his friends - and us - during his Last Supper, that the bread he offered was his body, and the cup he offered was the cup of his blood. Every time we celebrate his Last Meal, we celebrate his coming to us RIGHT NOW in the Eucharist, his entire Presence, body, blood, soul, and divinity.
The Eucharist is a great and profound Mystery of Love, a mystery that it will take us a lifetime to understand and appreciate. Why should we doubt that this is real? The people we love most profoundly are the ones we want to be with, body and blood, heart and soul, for our entire lives. Christ wants to be with us, give us his entire self, for our entire lives. His Real Presence is his way of being with us, a way too deep and wonderful for us to comprehend. Simply say "Thank you" to him for this gift!
When Christ loves you with all that he is, how do you love him back? He tells us we should love him back by loving the people around us and all of creation. We should love others the way Christ loves us: "But I tell you again that I love you – not for what you have or haven’t done – I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity my Father gave you by creating you in his own image."
To whom or to what do you say: “I love you - Take all of me - This is my life, which I'm living and laying down for you”? It seems impossible to love so deeply, so purely. And it is - for us. Only when Christ lives in us and lives through us can we love this way, because we are loving others with Christ's love. We are carrying the Risen Christ into the world as truly as the pregnant Mary carried Jesus into the world.
Deep in your heart, your soul, and with all your body, believe this: God loves you. Not because of what you've accomplished. Not because you do good things. God loves you simply because you are you. No matter how poorly you've been loved up to this point, God loves you with all God's Heart. No matter how wonderfully you've been loved up to this point, all human love is a shadow in the unparalleled radiance of God's love for you.
So, don't waste this life God gives you. Love God back. Love God back for Who God is - Father, Son, and Spirit, One Community of Divine Love Who love YOU! With endless Love! Love God back in gratitude for all God's gifts to you, God's daily mercies in your life.
Love what matters: God, and God's gifts. Family. Friends. Strangers. Sunsets. Infant's laughter. Your Birthday. Kids playing in the snow. Wiggling your toes in the sand. Listening to Church bells. The rich smell of blooming roses. An eagle soaring overhead. Your dog nuzzling you. The air you breathe. A drink of cool water. Trees' leaves rustling like hands clapping. A heaven-full of stars. The Mysterious Beauty of the Eucharist, Christ's Living Presence, a true Banquet of Love.
Everything good and beautiful flows from God's Hand - a gift of love for you. Love what matters - God and God's gifts - because they'll live for eternity. Let your heart lift and rise with gratitude, and you'll truly discover joy.