Love begets love and understanding

When I was younger, during a conversation with another (wiser) person, I kept questioning why the Church this and why Christ that… This person simply smiled at me and told me: “Love, and you will understand”. Taken aback by this answer but unable to rebut, I looked around me and started to notice: my sister, my parents, my friends, my colleagues.

How can we love? We can only start by tiny gestures: a cup of coffee, visiting a friend, holding back a needless comment, listening to someone else, giving way while driving, offering help when we least felt like it... and so on. Little by little we notice that love begets love.

If we love, others love us back in return, and the environment becomes a happier one. Like a tiny stone thrown in the water which causes ripples which get bigger and bigger, so can we influence our environment.

We love also because we believe that Jesus is in each and every person, and “whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do it to me”. Whether it’s your annoying neighbour, or the rude passenger next to you on the bus, it doesn’t matter because it’s always the same Jesus we are loving! It is a learning experience, one for which we have to train ourselves every single day, or better, every single moment. But, “...if you love me, I will reveal myself to you”. And with every act of love towards our neighbour, we can come to a better understanding of God and discover His infinite love for each and every one of us. We understand that loving God is doing His will. We come to recognise what His will is for us. We understand that His plan for every single human being is simply His love for each one, no less.

It is only then that we understand that “who hears you hears Me”, and rediscover those much forgotten virtues of obedience and humility. It is only then that we understand that like a skeleton, structure may be unattractive but it is utterly indispensable to hold everything up. It is only then that we appreciate and respect those who have the hard task of guiding the Church. Only then can we criticise but only because we want it to be better and because we love it.

If we love each other, no problem is insurmountable, and love is not a prerogative of Christians alone. Everyone can and must strive towards brotherhood. Only then can we aspire to unity among us.