Jan 28, 2016

Prayer of St. Francis (20)

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be loved as to love.

“If you want love,
give love.”
Anon

Love

We will look at the line “O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek To be loved as to love.” from the Prayer of St. Francis.

To give love in this world is to learn to be as God is in It’s very Being. God is Love, only Love, and Love is God. All that exists is a gift of Love. Look in the mirror: look at the Love of God looking back at you. Look in the eyes of another: look at the Love of God through the eyes of another. As was said in the first letter of John: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) This powerful statement sums up this line of the Prayer of St. Francis, that we must love others to understand the Love of God that is always present. Unless we let that Love flow through us to at least one other, we will not understand in any way the Love of God and will be blind to the beauties of Love that is offered to us from God and from any others that we meet.

Too many marriages fall apart because at least one of the parties has not learned that first Love must flow from them to another before they can accept any love that is reciprocated. Love indeed is not lust; no: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 4-5). Note that there is nothing sexual about any of the marks of love. These marks of love give an indication what life with God is all about; it is all of the above quote, and when we review ourselves we can see how we fit that description, and begin to see where we are on the road to Love, or God. When we learn to have these qualities to some degree, giving ourselves to others in a true and honest manner, then we will be able to receive love from others and find the Joy that living in God promises.

Love is Gained only by Giving

Love is a funny thing. Only be giving it away are we open to receive love from another. All the marks of love from first Corinthians are marks of true friendships, and when we learn to have such friendship with others we can learn to love another and be loved in return. For lovers must be friends first, and you will find that all long lasting and loving marriages began with friendship of a deep nature. Out of friendship comes the nature of love, and we learn through friendship of last nature how to accept and to truly love another.
Love is indeed a strange thing. It is nothing material, it cannot be grasped, it can not really be spoken about with any reality. Love is a movement in our being that responds to another, our very beings sync together and we often find even our hearts beat to the same rhythm. True friends have the same response when they are together, and often find thoughts and feeling are linked in strange manners.
Next we will look at how giving of love works with our ability to receive love.

“Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud, it does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.”
(1 Corinthians 4-5).

Questions to Ponder

How does the giving of Love enter into my daily interactions with all that I meet?
If you have a significant other, how does this quest of giving love without expecting anything in return fit in our relationship?
If you are searching for love, how does this line change your quest?

Meditation

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.”
If this meditation post has been helpful, I would appreciate it if you would pass it on or share it.