Homily 20 February By Fr. Hathaway FSSP Mater Dei Latin Mass Community
Second Sunday of Lent
On Love Believes All Things
“Love believes all things”
St. Paul writes, “Love believes all things,” (1 Cor. 13:7) which St.
Alphonsus Liguori explains (The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ),
“Those who love Jesus Christ believe all His words.”
It is a proof that we love someone when we believe what he says.
Thus, the more we love our dear Savior, the more faith we will have in
Him and the more we will believe what He says.
Faith is the basis of divine love; but this love perfects our
faith. Again, without faith we cannot love, but without love we
cannot be more faithful. The more we love God, the more faithful
we shall be.
St. Alphonsus observes that love moves us to believe not just with our
intellect but also with our will. He then describes three types
of ways people love God.
First, there are those who believe only with the mind, but not the
heart. These are like sinners who know the truths of the Catholic
faith but choose not to live according to the commandments.
These have a weak faith. If they had a lively faith, they would
see that God’s grace is the greatest possession and sin the greatest
tragedy and, thus, they would reform their lives.
St. Alphonsus next identifies other Christians who believe more than
the former. These believe in the Trinity, the Incarnation, the
sacraments etc., but they do not believe in all Christ’s words.
Jesus Christ has said, “Blessed are the poor…”; “Blessed are the
sorrowful,…”; “Blessed are you when men persecute you…” (Lk
6:20-21) This is how Jesus Christ speaks in the gospels.
St. Alphonsus asks, “How many truly believe these words especially
considering that their speech is more along these lines, ‘Blessed are
they who have money,’ ‘Blessed are the happy and want for nothing,’
Blessed are you when men praise you.’” St. Alphonsus says such
people either don’t believe the gospels or believe only part of them.
Lastly, he says there are those who believe all the words of our
crucified Savior, who consider it a good sign and a favor of almighty
God to be poor, to be sick, to be mortified, to be despised and
mistreated by others while in this life. “These,” St.
Alphonsus says, “believe all the words of the gospels; these have a
perfect faith and a real love for Jesus Christ.”
Now what can we say regarding those who lack faith in God or who have a
weak faith in God?
St. Alphonsus is quick to point out that lack of faith does not arise
from the obscurity of the things of faith. True we see now in a
dark mirror, and only after this life face to face, yet God has so
clearly revealed the essentials that those who do not believe them are
not only imprudent but impious and insane.
He says the weakness of one’s faith is due to his wicked morals.
A weak faith arises from a lax resolve to quit sinful pleasures.
Men of weak faith end up scorning God; wishing to end moral laws; and
hating the idea of any punishment due for sin. Hence, these men
avoid thinking about death, judgment, and hell. These topics
frighten them and so they try and ease their conscience by trying to
believe there is no soul, no God; or if they believe these doctrines,
they convince themselves that hell doesn’t exist and that we are all
going to heaven in a pink sailboat.
In his time, St. Alphonsus recognized that lax morals in society
stirred the production of many books by materialists, indifferentists,
and naturalists. Some books were written denying the existence of
God or said He cared little for His creation; other books denied the
immortality of the human soul or said the soul simply endures forever
in reincarnated forms; finally, other books questioned the objective
order of creation and dismissed the commandments as needful or
relevant. In our own day, to this list of books, we
may add another. After generations have absorbed these faith
damaging books, could this not be the reason why so many crippled minds
run to the self-help aisle at Borders?
Finally, St. Alphonsus would have us consider the ingratitude and
wickedness of mankind.
God made everything for His glory, including man. Put another
way, God created man for Himself and longs to share His happiness with
him.
We know well that God placed the first man in paradise, a place of
delight and refreshment; a place without pain or suffering. Yet,
in preferring his will over God’s, Adam ate the forbidden fruit which
lost him God’s friendship and the source of His true happiness.
Adam chose his will over God and becomes unhappy; that is the reality
of every man who enters this world and does not place himself under
God’s authority… he will be unhappy.
And yet, even though every man enters this world a child of wrath, God
still longs to share Himself with us. He extends His saving arms;
He beckons all to come to Him. He left us memorials of His great
love for all men by His life, death, and resurrection. He even
now showers upon mankind so much grace of light and warmth, so many
graces and blessings. Yet, the truth remains that the greater
portion of men wishes more for darkness than the Light.
Love believes all things.
The souls who love God believe all His words.
After “Love believes all things,” St. Paul writes, “Love hopes all
things” which St. Alphonsus explains, “Those who love Jesus Christ hope
for everything from Him.” This will be our topic next time.