It has been a while since last you heard from me. Life has been a bit busy but good. I have added a new title to my name, "Doctor of Ministry." Now the question is, do you address me as Father Doctor or Doctor Father or Rev. Father Doctor or well you get the point. Basically you can just stick with "Paul" or any of the other many names people use to refer to me or get my attention.
The other day as our small little Passionist community here where I live, was celebrating morning mass, I was taken by the first reading from Peter. I am sure that over the 26 years of my priesthood I had heard, read and perhaps even preached upon this little section from the First Letter of St. Peter however as I read it, it felt like I was reading it for the first time.
There were a number of things about this reading that made me think but the one phrase that has stayed with me is, "Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins" (1Peter 4:8). It was this same phrase that our presider and preacher touched on in his short reflection at our mass.
"Let your love for one another be intense" were Peter's words. Not just love one another but love intensely! We do not often talk this way in terms of love. Perhaps someone in love for the first time, a teenager smitten with what feels like love might use the word intense to describe her/his feelings. Or a couple engaged or newly married might describe their emotions of love as intense. Maybe we use intense to articulate certain moments of love in our lives. Yet I am not sure we often feel comfortable using the word "intense" to reflect the love we fell particularly in terms of our faith.
I suppose at times when we think of intense love we think of Jesus' love as reflected by his Passion and Death, as reflected by the Cross and we call his love intense. Yet, Peter says love one another intensely not just for a moment or in a particular situation but always. In other words, in all we do and say to one another it should be done with a love that is intense.
I think this phrase has stuck with me because in recent weeks "love" has been a particular theme in my thoughts and prayer. I have reflected upon the loves of my life both past and present. I have thought about how important love is to me and how necessary it is to my life and ministry.
I have lost at love many times often because of mistakes that I have made and so I wondered if Peter was right in saying that "love covers a multitude of sins." After all my sins, shortcomings, faults and failings at times have been the very reasons why I lost at love, why I lost the gift of a person in my life. Maybe that is why Peter said first, love intensely! It is the intensity of our love that can cover our sins and help us hold on to love. It was Jesus' intensity of love that held on to us! Perhaps if I had been more intense I would not have lost so much love.
That brings me to the second part of my reflection, in recent days, weeks and months there has been a lot of chatter, conversation, directives and discussion about the Church, religious liberty, law suits, the LCWR, sandals in the Vatican, the ongoing sexual abuse scandal, church closings, the Roman Missal and mush more. It is hard to pick up the paper or go on the internet and not find something about the Church each day and much of it is not positive. There have been many words written and sound bits generated both pro and con. There have been countless blogs, op-eds, tweets, retweets, facebook likes and comments. Often what is expressed is done in an accusatory, angry and uncompromising manner lacking any sort of compassion what so ever on both sides. You can feel the venom whether conservative or liberal, traditionalist or progressive, Catholic or non, faithful Catholic, struggling or fallen away, hierarchy or person in the pew. There is an intensity for sure but it is not love!
Which brings me to my point, I cannot speak for those outside the faith community but for those of us inside, especially those of us in leadership might we not give pause to Peter words from the fourth chapter of his first letter before we go any further. Might we not add some intensity of love to the living of our faith rather than challenge, sue, bully and proclaim that the "sky is falling!" After all we are all God's people whom Jesus loves intensely!
Well, whatever happens in the coming days, weeks months and years I have decided to take Peter's advise and "let my love be intense." Sure I might get hurt, abused, laughed at, I might not win but it will cover a multitude of my humanness and put me in the presence of God's many Loves!
Until the next time Peace in Christ's Passion...Fr. Paul
