We Cannot Truly Love God If We Do Not Love Our Fellow Men

As recounted by Josef Piper, Alexander Pfander "a magnificent analyst of the mental processes" defines love as "an act of partnership for the existence of the beloved... a continual affirmative keeping the beloved in existence." (p 24-25) This is a poetic statement which truly encapsulates the feeling of a human being's capacity to love another. Loving someone (the romantic use of the word) in accordance with Catholic Social Teaching, is desiring to give yourself to them completely. The purpose for this human faculty is to attain complete and perfect love of God. This is achieved through a harmony of self-love, love for one's fellow man, and ultimately true love for God. According to Le Camus, this is "the principle and goal of moral perfection" (Le Camus, "Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jesus-Christ", III, 81).

Although I agree with this belief, it is surely a daunting task to ask someone to operationally define the term "love." This is so because (especially among members of my generation) the word is too often abused, or used in situations in which the term "like" is better suited. Thus, its true meaning becomes somewhat unclear. (Example: "I love those shoes!") This is in line with Pfander's statement, because giving yourself to someone implies that you want them to exist forever in your heart and soul; it is much deeper than simple attraction. Vladimir Soloviev, in his "On the meaning of Sexual Love" describes love as a force which "excludes death, protests against it, and actually denies it." (p 25) In this profound statement, Soloviev takes the stance that love truly does conquer all, even death itself. I find this to be a fascinating concept, and one that I imagine to be quite true.

According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, beauty is defined as "the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest)." I find the latter portion of this definition to be the most interesting. Even this secular publication acknowledges the true beauty which is found in those individuals in whom pure "spiritual qualities" exist.

As a member of the Catholic faith, this statement brings Jesus Christ to mind. Jesus was the absolute embodiment of love and beauty. Since he was the Son of God, he was more capable of loving others than any other man. He also possessed a flawless faith in God, which made him beautiful. He taught us that we ought to love our neighbors and offer them our aid when they are in need. Beauty and love were both fully present in Jesus, and that is why we must seek to be as much like him as we are able. In fact, love is truly only possible when an individual possesses a type of inner beauty; a spiritual strength, faith, cleanliness, and love of self which is achieved through living a righteous life by the grace of God.

As I alluded earlier, the term "love" is often misused. In many situations today, individuals use the phrase "make love" as a euphemism when they really mean "have sexual intercourse." The sad reality of the matter is that too often individuals have sex and sexual relationships that are not based on love at all. They ought not abuse the term. Worse yet is that some individuals think this is morally okay. However, it is an absolute betrayal of self-love, and a misuse of one's body (Romans 6:13). This is mortal sin: the act of love is meant to be one of deep spiritual affection and genuine love, not of superficial or recreational reasons. Intercourse should only be exercised between a married couple, as a symbolic gesture of absolute oneness and unity as well as for procreation. Sex between a married couple is beautiful, while the act of sexual "love" with an absence of this spiritual element of beauty is not really love at all.

It may not be immediately evident that the term love is often used in Catholic teaching to mean "charity." The expression "to love the neighbour for the sake of God" means that our only hope of nearing the kind of love which Christ had for us is to recognize our obligation toward our fellow man (John 13:35). This is the best way for us to prove that we truly love God (1 John 3:10). St. Paul defines this kind of charitable love as a divinely infused habit, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God (1 Corinthians 13:13). By exercising Christian love for our fellow man, we are propagating unity among God's creatures.

As I have illustrated, it is very dangerous (not to mention erroneous) to mentally separate the concepts of beauty and love, but in today's society it seems this is becoming increasingly common. More and more people are attracted to immoral and unjust practices; they do not love what is beautiful. Instead, they reject Christ and act in accordance to their own feelings of lust or attraction. In doing so, they compromise both their love of self as well as love of man. Instead, we must respect our bodies as well as the bodies of others. We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow men. In addition, we must exercise the concept of Christian charity: it is our duty as God's people to help others in any way we can. Finally, we must seek to love God as best as we are able. We must conduct our lives in approximation to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and avoid the temptations of sin. In taking part in immoral activities (such as premarital sex, sex with the absence of love, et cetera), individuals sacrifice their potential to gain personal spiritual beauty. Thus they render themselves not only incapable of ever truly loving anyone (including God), but they also become unfit to enjoy the romantic love of someone else.

Works Cited

"Beauty." Random House Unabridged Dictionary Online. 2006. Random House. 13 March 2007 < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/beauty>.

Piper, Josef. "Love Desires Eternity." Foundations of Theological Study. Ed. Richard Viladesau and Mark Massa. New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

Sollier, J.F. "Love (Theological Virtue)." The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.