May 22 Fri
How can I keep my love for God fresh as I grow older?
Our Christian life is like that of the man in the parable who finds a buried treasure in a field, and in his joy, he sells all that he has and buys that field.
Jesus Christ made us see that there is nothing to compare with such a treasure: love and commitment to God.
Although the treasure is priceless, our Lord did not ask us for everything all at once. Little by little, He helps us overcome our weaknesses and calls us to further self-denial and greater dedication. Our initial self-giving, inspired by love in the joy of our discovery, is something He wants us always to maintain alive.
Commenting on the ‘mandatum novum,’ the new commandment that Christ gave his disciples, St Augustine asks: Why does the Lord call it a new commandment, even if it is evidently so old?
It is a new commandment because it strips away the old man and clothes us in the new. Such love renews us: we become new persons, heirs of the New Testament, singers of a new song. This love, dear brethren, renewed the Apostles, and now it renews us. From the whole human race, it creates and gathers together a new people, the body of the new bride of the only-begotten Son of God.
Our first love should remain alive; it should grow and inspire all our actions. If we lack love, all the good things we might do in God's service would be useless and in vain.
Our deeds are worth little if they are not done out of charity. It is possible and natural for the youthful fervor of our initial dedication to become less apparent over time. But that is no reason for it to be less intense. As we grow older, we must love God as we are, even if we seem to feel nothing. Our love can become purer and more supernatural.
St. Josemaría set a good example for us in this. Though he habitually "went against the grain," as he used to say, he burned with love for God, setting our hearts on fire too, especially with love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Once, he confided to us: “In a few minutes I will go to celebrate the Holy Mass: to have that most personal of all encounters with the Love of my soul. And, in the words of the liturgy, I will be going up to the altar of God, who gives joy to my youth. Because I am young, and I will always be young, since my youth is that of God, who is eternal. With this love, I can never feel old."
Both at the start of the journey and after we have traveled quite a distance, love should be present because “without charity, we can't do anything. But with charity, we can do everything. Love. This is the secret of life... Love! Suffer with joy! Make your soul steadfast and strengthen your will. Confirm your self-giving, and with it, your effectiveness."