Falling in Love!
05/21/2017
Falling in Love!
Fr. Al Demos
Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It is very rare that a person has never had the experience of falling in love. From teenage infatuations to life-long commitment, our association with and how we relate with others allows us to experience the wonder of human interactions. We can actually learn so much from interacting with other people, from the kindest, sweetest and most gentle, to the cruelest, bitterest and most ruthless of people. Hopefully, whatever the experience, there should always be a lesson to be learned in how we can best relate to others.
Most people desire to meet with and associate with good, kind people; people who you can trust and confide in. As a human being, you have a tremendous capacity to love. As a Christian, that capacity is greatly enhanced because you know that your ability to love is the unique gift given from God.
What is so special is the uniqueness and degree of the love that you hold for different people. For example, just think of the way you love your parents, grandparents, godparents, siblings, spouse, children, grandchildren, godchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives, friends and associates. Each degree and intensity of your love for each person is different, yet still so very important and unique to you.
In every Liturgy, I have the joy to pray for several hundreds of precious people by name, as well as remembering thousands in an embracing, all-inclusive manner, both those who have passed on to God and those living on Earth. This is the very special privilege and honor that is uniquely available to priests in our Liturgical prayers. These joyful prayer opportunities afford me the ability to be able to express my love for all the very special and exceptional people that have enriched my life and make up the cherished wealth that comprise the treasures of my life; especially my most precious treasure of all - my beloved wife and our precious sons.
And you, dear servant of God, how do you measure the wealth of your life’s treasure in the ones you hold so very dear to your heart and who you cherish in your life? Please think about those profound feelings within you. Certainly, you know hurt as well as joys. But most of all, I pray you know that God’s love dwells within you, and that you can be and are a well-spring of God’s love through your love for others.
I John 4:7-11…Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (For God is love!)