How to Love Others

Clare did a post about how to talk about others. I feel this goes hand in hand with how to love others -- for if we love others, we will want the best for them.

One of my favorite saints at the moment -- and hopefully forever -- is St. Therese, The Little Flower. Her doctrine revolves around the idea of loving every person, and praying for them in order to save their souls. Through her "little way," she found such favor with God.

On my Facebook page, I posted this note a couple days ago and wanted to share it here. Most of the text is from my Magnificat and written by Dom LeFebvre, O.S.B. I added commentary as well:

In the image of the Persons of the Trinity, each of whom is all that he is in relationship with the other two, a person is made for relationship with others and this is the only way he or she can develop. Turning inwards individualistically is isolation; we become persons in relationship with others. [So true!! We are meant to love others, and is the most basic vocation.]

But we can only truly turn to others by turning to God. In Him alone can our relationships with others reach their proper depth.

To love others, and to respect them as that love requires, we must recognize their special relationship with GOD. God calls each single person and puts desire in his heart, that desire for God which is each man's truth and proper stature. But before we can see this in others, we must find it in ourselves. [From ourselves, and our personal relationship with our God, we can then see God in others more clearly -- and this helps us to look at all as our brothers and sisters!]

To believe in this presence of God in all human life without being put off by appearances we must have experienced with amazement the faithfulness of God's love for us, however unfaithful we have been. ... If we wish to see our neighbor as we should, we must see him as he is in the eyes of God. Only then can we love him. This is why it is necessary to see ourselves in the eyes of God. Then we can love with that love which comes from Christ. A love which is different from all human good will, because we respect our neighbor for his relationship with Christ, even if he does not know it, because Christ knows every man.

Thus, we can be witnesses to the love of Christ by recognizing his persence in our love.

~~~

How simple this vocation: love. But it truly is what we are all called to do -- and something this simple spreads wonders! Imagine what can happen if we all smile at someone else, and love them as Christ loves them. It will spread, and keep on spreading.

How good it is to spread happiness and joy than pain or suffering.