Taking God’s Love for Granted

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

As I work with good-hearted preachers, I hear in homilies repeatedly that God loves us and that we are to love God and our neighbor. Do you hear (or say) that, too? Some of us use “churchy words” over and over again. Might we not have a hard time transcending the superficial to say something fresh and new about love today when we have talked about love so many times? Love,  love, love, blah, blah, blah . . . 

How can we go deeper? For inspiration, we turn to a medieval Carmelite monk whose affection for God was so warm that his kindliness overflowed to others. Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection wrote in The Practice of the Presence of God that all counts for lost in the time that is not spent in loving God. Wherever  he was, he practiced the presence of God. Whatever he did, he did  with Jesus. He flipped an omelet with God; he repaired shoes with  the Lord; he spoke with others while remaining attentive to the Holy Spirit within his heart. Three hundred years later, his little maxims  about love of God and love of neighbor are still invigorating. 

You and I, how can we love more deeply? We can be more constant  in our communion with God. We can pray more often. Today’s psalmist offers us little words of love to pray all day, modeling for us how to cherish the living God: “I love you, O Lord, my strength,  O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer!” Lifting up our hearts for thirty seconds, we can send our adorations to God. Loving tenderness then wells up within us and overflows to others. 

We have little control over “how good” we are in prayer or in  love. But we can be more constant with them both. 

Consider/Discuss 

  • With Brother Lawrence, we can gain the habit of being constant in  practicing the presence of God. Partner with one other person to try that  for one whole day. Share with one another what that experience was like. 
  • Think about times when you have taken expressions of love for granted: at  the end of a phone call, as one is going out the door, etc. What jogs you out  of that fog to better appreciate who and what you have?

Living and Praying with the Word 

O Lord our rock, our redeemer, our stronghold, do not let us take  your love for granted! When we absorb the immensity of your care  for us, then we want to love you with all our heart and soul and mind  and strength. Deepen us this day. Well up in our hearts and help us to radiate your love to others. For through you and with you and in  you, we have our being. We love you. We love you. We love you.

Living the Word logo

Copyright © 2021, 2020, 2019, 2012, 2011, 2010 World Library Publications, a div. of GIA Publications, Inc. www.giamusic.com
All rights reserved. Used by permission.