Call Us Today!
My spiritual life was deeply affected by a gentleman at my parish, someone I didn't know and who undoubtedly didn't know me. When I did see him, he was going to Confession or to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, something he did weekly. One day I realized he was pulling an oxygen tank behind him. Over the course of time, he started to use a walker and, eventually, a motorized scooter, all the time taking the oxygen tank with him.
His devotion was obvious, as was his love for God. I began to pray for him daily and for myself, as well, that I would love God with the same commitment. What I discovered is that love manifests itself in different ways, all of which are divine qualities of God.
Our Catholic faith teaches, "God is love," but I think we sometimes gloss over that truth and focus on other elements of our faith, like prayer and doctrine, Sacraments, and devotions, because they are more concrete. Love is abstract. What exactly does love, particularly God's love, mean?
For Christians, it would be better to ask, "What does it require?" To have a better understanding of the answer to that question, we must work toward understanding God's love and helping our children understand it as well.
Pope Francis has stressed that God's love is not easy to understand. "It is a love that cannot be understood. A love that surpasses all knowledge. It surpasses everything. The love of God is so great; a poet described it as a 'bottomless sea without shores…' This is the love that we must try to understand, the love that we receive."
The Holy Father explains that God loved us first by calling us into being and then loved us so much he chose to become one of us for our salvation so we could learn more about who God is and how God loves. Jesus became our teacher through his life and his death.
"This is the mystery of God's love: the greatest greatness expressed in the smallest smallness. This allows us to understand Christianity. Jesus teaches us the kind of attitude a Christian should have; it is all about carrying on God's own work in your own small way … Works of mercy, pave the path of love that Jesus teaches us in continuity with God's great love for us!" said Pope Francis.
Looking to Scripture (1 Corinthians 13:1-8 is a good start), we can learn what love is and what it is not based on the way Jesus loved. Children can begin to learn how God's love, perfect love, can inform and serve as a model for human love, which is rarely perfect.
Love is healing – While we may not be healers in the sense that Jesus healed, as adults, we know that a loving presence can help in the emotional and physical healing of someone who is sick, grieving, or simply lonely. Ask children what they might do for a sick friend or classmate or a classmate who sits alone in school.
Love is forgiving – Everyone makes mistakes, some more serious than others. Jesus makes it clear that forgiveness is part of love, instructing Peter to offer forgiveness "70 times seven," a number meant to symbolize something too big to count. Ask students to share their forgiveness experiences or to share why forgiveness is often so difficult (no wrong answers here).
Love is patient – Patience is a hallmark of enduring love, love for the long-haul. It's also a challenge, especially when the person you love does something thoughtless or hurtful, making it very difficult for those who vow "for better or for worse." Patience is also a tough one for children. Discuss the meaning of patience with your students and ask for examples of patience, or not, in their own lives. If they have siblings, there should be plenty of input.
Love is kind – In his letter to the Ephesian community, Paul writes, in a section entitled Rules for a New Life (Ephesians 4:25-32), "… be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ." Kids do know kindness, what it means for someone to be kind to them and what it means to be kind to others, especially their pets. Let them share their kind moments and applaud them for their goodness.
There are many other aspects that could serve as discussion points – humility, trust, self-sacrifice, and, I'm sure, an interesting list created by students.
For teacher reflection, also from Paul to the Ephesians,
"… living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:15-16).
About the AuthorMary Clifford Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to ten, is a Catholic journalist, editor, and author who has served the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont, and RENEW International in the areas of religious education and communication.
Product Highlight
Family Life Second Edition
Family Life Second Edition is the newly updated edition of RCL Benziger's leading K-8 supplemental program that addresses key concerns of today's Catholic families. Family Life includes child safety education in every grade level, promotes virtuous living, and strengthens Catholic identity.
The Family Life program reinforces the Catholic virtues and values that your students attain with their education. Family Life is essential to your school-based religious education program and meets Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards and benchmarks.