Daily Retreat 01/26/06

2006 Jan 26 Thu: Timothy and Titus, bps M

2 Tm 1: 1-8 or Ti 1: 1-5/ Ps 95(96): 1-2a. 2b-3. 7-8a. 10/ Mk 4: 21-25

From today’s readings: "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.... The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you!"

Deus Caritas Est

Yesterday, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI was published, entitled, "Deus Caritas Est," the Latin words meaning, "God is Love"(cf. 1John 4:8,16). It is freely available for downloading from the Vatican’s website: www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals /documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html

We all are aware, as the Pope points out, that "Today, the term ‘love’ has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words, a word to which we attach quite different meanings....we speak of love of country, love of one's profession, love between friends, love of work, love between parents and children, love between family members, love of neighbour and love of God. Amid this multiplicity of meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness."

In the first part of the encyclical, the Holy Father explores the complementary relation between two kinds of love: the distinct love called "eros" in Greek, and that other love called "agape" in Greek. In the original Greek of the New Testament, "eros" is never used, but, the Pope explains, that does not mean that the Christian faith is opposed to that type of love. But Christian writers have always needed to use that term cautiously, because the unfortunate tendency has long been to reduce "eros" to romantic or sexual love, (as, for example, in the English derivative "erotic"). To be sure, such a meaning in itself can be noble (as our faith, recognizing the goodness of God’s creation, unabashedly asserts!), but it can also be tainted with brutish connotations. Christianity not only embraces the most noble understanding of "eros," but also the broader meaning of the term as well, for in fact, "eros" semantically also denotes passionate, joyful, yearning love that ultimately draws one out of oneself, up to another.

In contrast, "agape," a term used especially in the New Testament (and rarely in pagan literature) expresses selfless, sacrificial love of God and of neighbor – this is the "love" referenced, for example, in today’s first reading, 2Tim 1:7. But, the Pope points out, "man cannot live by oblative, descending love alone. He cannot always give, he must also receive. Anyone who wishes to give love must also receive love as a gift." Consequently, " ‘eros’ and ‘agape’ – ascending love and descending love – can never be completely separated. The more the two, in their different aspects, find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true nature of love in general is realized." This is a profound insight with which to measure the full horizon of Christian love!

Tomorrow, I will present some highlights from the second part of the Pope’s encyclical.