Home Tools for your Journey Sept 9

Wednesday, September 9

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
—Matthew 10:37

It's counter-intuitive. How could a God of love who has placed us in a human family suggest that if we love that family too much, we will not be worthy of God? Certainly those who have been given to us by the hand of heaven, those who are the dearest and most precious to us deserve every possible ounce of love that our heart can give.

St. Benedict taught that this verse calls us to prefer nothing to the love of Christ. In other words, even those who claim our hearts in this world must not claim them so much that we prefer what is created to the pure love of heaven.

The love heaven has for us is beyond our comprehension. We have a sense of it when we see blessings rising on the horizon of our life, but when pain strikes, we question the love of God. Instead of settling ourselves in heaven's embrace, we turn to those who are near and dear to us. We hope that our human relationships will somehow make up for what heaven has seemingly denied.

Yet, when our soul is deeply grounded in the love of God, we begin to experience the limitless truth of God's compassion for us—in the blessings that stretch across our lives and in the pain that scrapes our heart. That love is so profound, so vast, so relentless that we will find our souls soothed, our hearts expanded, and our love for others deepened and strengthened. 

Gracious God, help me be so centered in your love that not even the best gift or worst anguish can keep me from it.