BISHOP THOMAS J. OLMSTED

NOVEMBER 15, 2007

The Virtue of Love

Part One: Welcoming the Stranger

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Is it legal to do this? Then, it must be right. Is it illegal to do that? Then, it must be wrong. But what happens when what is legal is immoral, as in abortion?

The Church, at Vatican II, called abortion “an unspeakable crime,” but in America since 1973, it is not a crime, legally speaking, in any of the 50 states. Pope John Paul said of this ethical catastrophe (Evangelium Vitae, 58), “The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behavior and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake.” What we must realize is that the laws of God are superior to man-made laws. If a man-made law is in conflict with the law of God, then it is not binding and is immoral.

Conversely, immigration laws badly in need of reform are used today as an excuse not to welcome the stranger, even to refuse humanitarian assistance to women and children. It is true that a nation has the right to enact laws that regulate immigration but those laws are always subject to the greater laws of God. They must be just and must preserve the dignity of each human person. Furthermore, there are certain natural rights of the human person that must be protected and which no man-made law may usurp. Consider, for example, the teaching of the Church found in the Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in America” in which Pope John Paul II wrote (#65), “The Church in America must be a vigilant advocate, defending against any unjust restriction of the natural right of individual persons to move freely within their own nation and from one nation to another. Attention must be called to the rights of migrants and their families and to respect for their human dignity, even in the cases of non-legal immigration.”

Welcoming the stranger in America

America has experienced many immigrations over the years (from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Cuba, Vietnam and so forth). Frequently, these people left behind famine or natural disaster, persecution, war or other injustice; and they came to our country for the same reason that immigrants come today, in hope of a better future for themselves and their children. Some of them came with proper papers, others did not. Whatever the case, the Church has always felt obliged to extend a warm welcome and helping hand. We have no less an obligation in 2007. We cannot forget Jesus’ words (Mt 25:35), “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

John Paul II spells out the kind of attitude we should have towards these recent arrivals (Ibid.), “Migrants should be met with a hospitable and welcoming attitude, which can encourage them to become part of the Church’s life, always with due regard for their freedom and their specific cultural identity.”

What we are dealing with here is more than a matter of justice, even though it certainly is that. It is also a matter of love. No man-made law, no circumstance, no custom can excuse us from the obligation to love our neighbor, whether the neighbor is a Samaritan or a Hispanic, whether he speaks our language or not. The demands of Christ’s call to love our neighbor are great indeed.

The Virtue of Love

Since May of this year, we have been considering virtues in this regular column, those habitual dispositions that help us to become more like Christ in the concrete circumstances of our times. First, we looked at the Cardinal Virtues, i.e. the primary human virtues extolled in the Book of Wisdom (Cf. 8:7): prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. More recently, we have been looking at the Theological Virtues of faith and hope. Now, we come to the last and the greatest of them all, love.

There is a close relationship between all the virtues. But the Theological Virtues are above all the rest since their object and source is God Himself. Of these three virtues, a necessary interconnection exists. Benedict Ashley, OP, in “Living the Truth in Love,” explains it well, “Christian love cannot exist without faith, since we cannot love a God we do not know, nor could it exist without hope, since we cannot love someone who is utterly beyond our reach… It is the flowering of faith and the fulfillment of hope” (p. 439).

Then, Ashley goes on to point out (p. 440), “Without love there is no perfect virtue, since it is the form and completion of all the virtues.” Love inspires the practice of all other virtues. Love is (Col 3:14) “the bond of perfection.” At the same time, it is the costliest of virtues. It engages us in the spiritual and ethical struggles of our time and in the battle between right and wrong that occurs first of all in our own hearts.

The Fire of Love

The practice of love requires a constant purification, a widening of narrow attitudes and a cleansing from selfish habits that hinder our ability to love. We have to learn the meaning of Jesus’ words (Jn 12:24), “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

Unless we keep in mind and gird ourselves daily for the cost of loving, our friendship with Christ can gradually erode, love of spouse and children can slip away, our love of others can cool and even die. The Lord constantly warns against this in the Bible. He says to the Church in Ephesus (Rev 2:4-5), “You have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen.” Jesus also says (Mt 24:11-12), “Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold.” This is the worst of all possible tragedies for, as St. Paul reminds us, “If I speak in human angelic tongues but do not have love… I am nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-2).

Speaking of Love

No topic is more pleasing than love. No topic could be more important. Yet, not surprisingly no topic is more difficult. The great philosopher and ethicist Josef Pieper, whose works on the virtues are among the more significant recently put forth, writes, “I more than once gave up in the face of the task of writing about the theme of ‘love,’ which I had, at any rate, put off to the end; and after a few years of futile attempts, I had finally resigned myself never to accomplishing an adequate presentation” (“Faith, Hope, Love,” p. 11). Once having accomplished the task, however, after many decades of effort, Pieper considered those writings to be his most important, perhaps he quips, because it cost him more effort than all the others.

One of the reasons that love is so difficult to write about, let alone try to live, is that it necessarily engages our whole person. To love is the opposite of standing aloof, the opposite of being an amused but uncommitted bystander. The brilliant but ultimately nihilistic philosopher Nietzsche said with some insight of love, “There is always some madness in love; but there is also always some sense in madness” (Ibid, p. 169-170).

Isn’t it interesting that our present Holy Father chose to take up the topic of love in his first encyclical letter (Deus Caritas Est)? No pope in history has written so many scholarly works, given so many important lectures, or done more original theological investigation than Joseph Ratzinger, whom we now know as Pope Benedict XVI. In his introductory paragraph to the encyclical, the Holy Father gives a simple yet profound reason for dedicating his first encyclical to love, “I wish to emphasize some basic elements, so as to call forth in the world renewed energy and commitment in the human response to God’s love.”

Over the next few weeks, we shall continue our reflections on the Virtue of Love. We have begun with some thoughts on love of the immigrant because it is so timely for our place and time. We shall, later on, consider the love of friendship, love of enemies, and married love. We shall also look at the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. May the Holy Spirit inspire us, not only to speak of love, but to live the truth in love.

Copyright 2007 The Catholic Sun.

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