One of these is the love of God. We speak of God's love often, hear about it at every Mass, and read about it throughout Sacred Scripture.
Yet have we ever paused to consider just how infinite, immeasurable, and unwavering His love truly is? And what would our homes, our parishes, our workplaces, and our world look like if we loved one another even a little more as God loves us?
Among the many attributes of God, perhaps none is more comforting, more mysterious, and more life-changing than His love.
Human love is beautiful, but it is often imperfect. We love generously one day and struggle the next. We forgive, yet sometimes continue to remember old wounds. We show kindness, but there are moments when impatience, pride, or disappointment creep into our hearts.
God's love is altogether different.
His love is not measured.
It does not fluctuate.
It does not grow weary.
It does not depend upon our achievements, our popularity, or even our faithfulness.
The Lord's love is infinite because God Himself is infinite.
Saint John writes with breathtaking simplicity:
"God is love." (1 John 4:8, ESV – CE)
Notice what he does not say.
He does not merely write that God loves.
He tells us that love belongs to God's very nature.
Everything God does flows from who He is.
When He creates, He creates out of love.
When He forgives, He forgives out of love.
When He corrects us, He corrects us out of love.
When He sent His Son into the world, it was love that moved Him.
As Our Lord Himself tells us:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, ESV – CE)
These words have become so familiar that we may sometimes pass over them too quickly.
Yet they reveal something astonishing.
God did not merely send a prophet.
He did not merely send an angel.
He gave His only Son.
The Cross stands forever as the greatest expression of divine love.
A Love That Has No Beginning and No End
One of the most remarkable truths about God's love is that it did not begin when we were born.
Nor did it begin when we were baptised.
God loved us before the universe itself existed.
Saint Paul tells us that God:
"...chose us in him before the foundation of the world..." (Ephesians 1:4, ESV – CE)
Before the first sunrise.
Before the first mountain.
Before the first star.
Before time itself.
God already knew us.
He already loved us.
Our existence is not an accident.
Nor are we simply another face in an unimaginably large crowd.
Each of us has been loved personally from all eternity.
The prophet Jeremiah records the Lord saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (Jeremiah 31:3, ESV – CE)
Everlasting.
We struggle even to comprehend such a word.
Almost everything we know has a beginning.
Most things eventually come to an end.
But God's love has neither.
It simply is.
The Love Revealed in Jesus Christ
If we ever wonder what God's love looks like, we need only look towards Christ.
Jesus did not merely speak about love.
He lived it.
He touched those others feared to approach.
He forgave those who had sinned greatly.
He welcomed children.
He comforted the grieving.
He fed the hungry.
He sought out those who had been forgotten.
Even while hanging upon the Cross, suffering unimaginable pain, His concern remained for others.
He prayed:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34, ESV – CE)
What kind of love forgives while nails still pierce hands and feet?
What kind of mercy prays for those who are causing such suffering?
Only divine love.
Saint Catherine of Siena once reflected that the measure of God's love cannot be measured because it has no limits.
She recognised that every page of the Gospel reveals a love deeper than human understanding.
Infinite Love Meets Human Weakness
The difficulty for us is not recognising that God loves.
Most Christians believe this.
The greater challenge is believing that He loves each one of us personally.
Sometimes we imagine that God loves humanity in general but struggles to love us in particular.
Our failures.
Our repeated sins.
Our weaknesses.
Our regrets.
These can become heavy burdens that tempt us to believe we have somehow exhausted God's patience.
Yet the parable of the Prodigal Son reveals something entirely different.
The father runs towards his returning son before the son can even finish his confession (Luke 15:20, ESV – CE).
His love had never disappeared.
His mercy had been waiting all along.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation continually reminds us of this truth.
Every confession is not an interruption of God's love.
It is an encounter with it.
Far from reluctantly forgiving us, Christ eagerly welcomes every repentant sinner.
How often we fear approaching Him when He is longing to embrace us.
The Saints Reflected That Love
Throughout history, the saints have become living icons of God's love because they first allowed themselves to be loved by Him.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe demonstrated heroic charity when he freely offered his own life in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz.
His extraordinary sacrifice was not merely an act of courage.
It was an imitation of Christ.
Saint Damien of Molokai chose to live among those suffering from leprosy, sharing not only their hardships but eventually their disease.
He did not love from a safe distance.
He loved by sharing the lives of those whom society had abandoned.
The young Saint Thérèse of Lisieux discovered that even the smallest acts of love offered to God possess eternal value.
A smile.
A patient word.
A hidden sacrifice.
A quiet prayer.
None of these are insignificant in God's eyes.
Even the lesser-known Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro, who endured increasing blindness, deafness, and paralysis, continued to radiate hope because she had become convinced that nothing could separate her from the love of Christ.
Their lives remind us that holiness is not first about doing extraordinary things.
It is about allowing God's infinite love to overflow into every ordinary moment.
A Question Worth Asking
Perhaps one simple question can accompany us throughout this week.
How different would our lives look if we loved others just a little more as God loves us?
Would we forgive more quickly?
Would we become more patient with difficult people?
Would we judge less and encourage more?
Would we notice those who are lonely?
Would we become slower to criticise and quicker to show compassion?
We may never love infinitely as God does.
That belongs to Him alone.
But every day, through His grace, our hearts can become a little more like His.
As we remain close to Christ in prayer, in Sacred Scripture, in the Holy Eucharist, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, His love gradually reshapes our own.
The world may never fully understand the depth of God's love.
But perhaps it will catch a glimpse of it in the way we love one another.
Growing Into the Love of God
As we reflect upon the infinite love of God, it is easy to become overwhelmed. How can finite human beings ever hope to imitate a love that has no beginning and no end?
The answer is both humbling and encouraging.
We cannot create that kind of love by our own efforts.
It is God's gift.
Saint Paul reminds us:
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5, ESV – CE)»
Notice that God's love is not merely shown to us.
It is poured into us.
Like water filling an empty vessel, His grace slowly enlarges our hearts, making us capable of loving in ways we never thought possible.
Our love, by comparison, is often like a single droplet of water.
God's love is like the boundless sea.
A droplet cannot become the sea by its own strength.
Yet when it falls into the ocean, it shares in something infinitely greater than itself.
So it is with us.
When we try to love by our own strength alone, we quickly reach our limits. Our patience wears thin. Our forgiveness becomes conditional. Our generosity depends upon convenience.
But when we remain united to Christ, our little droplet is immersed in the ocean of God's infinite love.
His grace enlarges our hearts.
His mercy softens our judgements.
His compassion reshapes our words and actions.
Little by little, we begin to reflect His love more clearly.
Not because we have become infinite, but because His infinite love is flowing through us.
Learning to Love As Christ Loves
On the night before His Passion, Jesus gave His disciples what He called a new commandment:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you..." (John 13:34, ESV – CE)»
This commandment is astonishing.
Jesus does not simply tell us to love others as we would like to be loved.
He raises the standard immeasurably.
We are to love as He loves.
Patiently.
Mercifully.
Faithfully.
Sacrificially.
This kind of love is not sentimental.
It is active.
It forgives.
It serves.
It perseveres.
It chooses the good of another even when doing so is costly.
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta often reminded those around her that we are called to do "small things with great love."
Those simple words echo the Gospel.
God rarely asks us to perform spectacular acts of heroism.
Instead, He places before us countless ordinary opportunities to love.
A listening ear.
A word of encouragement.
A visit to someone who is lonely.
A meal prepared for a neighbour.
A sincere apology.
A prayer for someone who has hurt us.
These small acts become great because they participate in the love of Christ.
The Eucharist – The School of Divine Love
There is no greater classroom for learning love than the Holy Eucharist.
At every Mass, Jesus gives Himself completely.
He holds nothing back.
The One who created the universe humbles Himself under the appearance of bread and wine so that we may receive Him.
This is infinite love made visible.
Saint John tells us:
"Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." (John 13:1, ESV – CE)»
Every Holy Communion is an invitation not only to receive Christ's love but also to become bearers of it.
As Saint Augustine beautifully taught, when we receive the Body of Christ, we are called to become what we receive.
The Eucharist strengthens us to become more patient.
More forgiving.
More generous.
More joyful.
More Christ-like.
Practical Guidance
How can we grow each day in this divine love?
We might begin each morning with a simple prayer:
"Lord, let someone experience Your love through me today."
During the day, we can pause before responding in frustration and ask ourselves:
"How would Christ respond in this moment?"
We can make time for quiet prayer, allowing ourselves to rest in God's love rather than constantly striving to earn it.
Regular Confession helps remove the barriers that prevent love from flourishing in our hearts.
Frequent reception of Holy Communion nourishes us with the very love we are called to share.
At the end of each day, we might ask ourselves three gentle questions:
- Where did we receive God's love today?
- Where did we share God's love today?
- Where is God inviting us to love more deeply tomorrow?
These simple reflections slowly form our hearts after the Heart of Christ.
Looking Towards Heaven
The more we grow in love here on earth, the more we prepare ourselves for Heaven.
Heaven is not simply a place.
It is perfect communion with the God who is Love itself.
Every act of charity, every sacrifice made for another, every hidden kindness, every sincere forgiveness is preparing our hearts for that eternal communion.
One day faith will give way to sight.
Hope will give way to fulfilment.
But love will remain forever.
As Saint Paul reminds us:
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13, ESV – CE)»
A Prayer for all who read this blog post and all who never will
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for loving us with an everlasting and immeasurable love. Before the world was created, Thou knewest us. Through Thy Son, Thou hast redeemed us. Through the Holy Spirit, Thou dost continue to pour Thy love into our hearts.
Bless all who read this blog post and all who never will. May those who feel forgotten discover that they are deeply loved by Thee. May those carrying burdens find rest in Thy mercy. May those who struggle to forgive receive the grace to love as Christ loves. Fill our homes, our parishes, our workplaces, and our communities with patience, compassion, kindness, and peace.
Help us never to doubt Thy infinite love, and teach us to reflect that love in every encounter until we are gathered into the joy of Heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of God and our loving Mother, we thank thee for always leading us closer to thy Son, whose Sacred Heart burns with infinite love for every soul.
Teach us to receive His love with humble and grateful hearts. Help us never to believe that we are beyond His mercy or outside His compassion. When we become impatient, remind us of His gentleness. When we struggle to forgive, help us remember His forgiveness from the Cross. When we grow weary, lead us back to the Eucharist, where His love is poured out anew for us.
Our Lady of Lourdes, intercede for us in our daily lives. Pray for our families, our friends, our priests, and all who are searching for hope. Help us to become instruments of Christ's peace, bringing His love into every conversation, every act of service, and every ordinary moment.
May our hearts become more like the Sacred Heart of Jesus through thy loving intercession.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Divine Grace, Refuge of Sinners, Queen of Peace, and Cause of Our Joy, pray for us now and always.
Amen.
Final Prayer
Lord, Thy love is like the endless sea,
Yet still it gently reaches me.
A tiny drop our love may be,
Yet joined with Thine eternally.
Teach us to love with open heart,
To choose the better, kinder part.
Till face to face at last we see,
The Love that spans eternity.
Amen.
Parish Invitation
God never intended us to journey towards Heaven alone. He calls us into the family of His Church, where His infinite love is proclaimed, celebrated, and shared.
We warmly invite everyone to join us for Holy Mass, where we encounter Jesus Christ in His Word and in the Holy Eucharist. Come regularly to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to experience His boundless mercy, take part in our parish activities, join our Living Rosary Group, and keep up to date by reading our latest parish newsletter.
As Saint John reminds us:
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:11, ESV – CE)»
May we continue to grow together as a parish family, learning each day to love a little more as God loves us, until we are united forever in His eternal Kingdom.
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