By DONALD DeMARCO
God is the source of all love and life. Without these two great gifts we are nothing. Our most fundamental response, then, should be one of appreciation. But appreciation can be superficial, such as appreciating a fine painting. If someone gave us the painting, then we should feel gratitude. Thus, we should feel gratitude to God since He bestowed these gifts on us.
Going a step further, God’s gifts, unlike the painting, are not exterior to us, but remain an essential part of us. Therefore, we should maintain an abiding friendship with God.
All human beings should maintain a friendship with God. Friendship is possible because love is available. Just as there can be no dance without music, there can be no friendship unless two people meet in the embracing atmosphere of love. Friendship is threefold, involving the lover, the beloved, and love.
In his book, Three to Get Married, Bishop Sheen states: “Love is triune in God because in Him there are three Persons and in the one Divine Nature! Love has this triple character because it is a reflection of the Love of God, in Whom there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Bishop Sheen also wrote:
“How can one love self without being selfish? How can one love others without losing self? The answer is: By loving both self and neighbor in God. It is His Love that makes us love both self and neighbor rightly.”
And:
“The lover of God never knows the words ‘too much.’ Those who accuse others of loving God or religion too much really do not love God at all, nor do they know the meaning of love.”
Despite God’s intimacy with us, we tend to lose both appreciation and gratitude for His gifts as well as our friendship with Him. We become distracted by our possessions, though they are neither lasting, nor are they a part of our being. We also spend a great deal of energy trying to be more than we are, trying to dazzle people with our accomplishments.
The presence of God removes such pressure so that we can relax and simply be ourselves, confident that God loves us the way He made us.
Our critical need, therefore, is to renew our friendship with God by recognizing how much He has given us.
The need to renew our relationship with God is particularly critical in marriage. It is within this hallowed institution that God’s gift of life is made manifest in the conception and birth of children. This need is strongly discouraged in the world by powerful leaders who act as if God’s gift of life is a curse rather than a blessing.
September 26 is now identified as World Contraception Day. At the same time, United Nations leaders are working hard to make abortion a universal right. In this way, God’s prerogative to initiate new life is rejected as well as the life He has created.
To quote Bishop Sheen in Three to Get Married once more:
“The mystery of creativeness is surrounded with awe. A special reverence does envelop the power to be co-creators with God in the making of human life. It is this hidden element that in a special way belongs to God, as does the grace of God in the sacraments. Those who speak of sex alone concentrate on the physical or visible element, forgetting the spiritual or invisible mystery of creativeness.”
Catholics have no choice but to live in a world where God’ s creative acts are spurned. To live as an authentic Catholic has its evident difficulties. But these difficulties are greatly exacerbated by a global environment that is severely hostile to Catholic orthodoxy.
Nonetheless, reason makes it clear that God, being the source of all love and life, provides us with a plan for life that is anchored in reality. This plan, however, does not show the way to a particular future. It is one that is based on a friendship with Him, one that serves as a guide and a source of faith.
We walk with God. World leaders lead us away from God.
We should teach our children about the nature of a loving friendship, one that recognizes the love of God. By nurturing this friendship, one begins to prepare for the special kind of friendship that is demanded of marriage.
Not everyone is called to the vocation of marriage, but a friendship with God that is grateful for His gifts of love and life will serve anyone well.
What this comes down to is that Catholics, in order to resist the lure of the world and not be sidetracked by the conflicts with the Church itself, must be all the more resolute in understanding their faith and putting it into practice.
Renewing one’s friendship with God is a good place to start.
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