A Four Letter Word for Love
We’re a sign of a divine mystery. But what does that mean?
It is the mystery of Trinitarian Life and Love – of God’s eternal Communion. “God Himself is an eternal exchange of love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in that exchange (CCC221).”
This concept will only temporarily be a mystery to us. God desires we share in this mystery–this exchange of love–with Him forever.
We know by this point that we are created by Love for love (in God’s image), but what might strike you is the TYPE of love God intended for us.
By nature we were created with a deep desire to draw near to God. “Eros” is the desire in us that seeks God. If you follow the Greek word out a little more, you’ll no doubt find that “Eros” is the origin of the word “erotic.”
We were created for erotic love.
Erotic love (as intended), like much in our culture today, has been completely defiled. And like many spiritual things, its original intention isn’t properly understood, resulting in rejection and a sense of disgrace… leading its new meaning to be rejected and disgraced by the very people God created it for: the Church. This is a mindset we must reverse.
In the confusion, we find ourselves at a crossroads: either (1) by a pure act of the will we become stoic by repressing our desires, condemning them as “bad” or unholy…OR… (2) once we realize that “starving ourselves” of our deepest desire is not possible, we give up the fight by “consuming” immediate gratification — in whatever form it takes.
We can’t deny our nature–the way God created us in HIS image–by denying these desires. But neither of the above options is the “abundant life” Jesus spoke of in John 10:10.
Thankfully, both Scripture and the Church offer direction along life’s crossroads!
“The moment the Word became flesh, he eliminated the unbridgeable distance between the finite and infinite…in order to draw us to the heights of satisfaction through communion with His divine being (Benedict XVI, Aug 10, 2012).
Our erotic desire–the deep longing for being taken outside of yourself, completely encompassed by Love–is NOT unattainable.
It becomes clear through Scriptures like Hosea 2:19 that God destined us to share in the exchange of this kind of love. (I challenge you to look it up!)
THIS is what makes the Gospel “good news:” there is a Love, freely offered to us, that quenches our deepest longing. Honestly, accepting and submitting to the Love of God is what we were actually created for. We were Made for More…
Throughout this next week, we encourage you to begin looking for obvious ways that you find yourself desiring God. In what areas of your life do you see yourself longing for Love that only He can provide?
Feel free to comment below or message us about what you realize! We’d love to hear from you!
As always, thank you for reading!
The FRP Team
