“If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without love is legalism; faith without love is ideology; hope without love is self-centeredness; forgiveness without love is self-abasement; fortitude without love is recklessness; generosity without love is extravagance; care without love is mere duty; fidelity without love is servitude. Every virtue is an expression of love. No virtue is really a virtue unless it is permeated, or informed, by love.” IfsLoveHeartSoulSelfCareChristianJusticeLove IsExistenceVirtueExampleExpressionDutyMereTrue LoveIdeologyGenerosityFortitudeFidelityWithout LoveServitudeExtravaganceChristian LoveRecklessnessSelf CenterednessLegalismCenterednessReligious LoveExpressions Of LoveAbasement Author:Richard Rohr
“Consider, for example, lust versus love. When we lust after someone or something, we think in terms of what they (or it) can do for us. When we love, however, our thoughts are immersed in what we can give to someone else. Giving makes us feel good, so we do it happily. But when we lust, we only want to take. When someone we love is in pain, we feel pain. When someone whom we lust is in pain, we only think in terms of what that loss or inconvenience means to us.” ThinkingWantGivingFeelsMeanPainTermCan DoLossLove IsExampleLustFeel GoodOur ThoughtsVersusInconvenience Author:David J. Lieberman
“Very often, the way love is defined, it does violence to both people. It almost makes them a slave to the other. For example, if to be in love, or to be married, it means that I'm responsible for the other person's happiness, now we get into this guilt game, where if they're upset, I'm at fault. Soon, that makes the person we are closest to about as much fun to be around as a prolonged dental appointment.” PeopleIfsWayMeanPersonsDoeGamesFunLove IsViolenceExampleCommunicationMarriedResponsibleGuiltFaultsSlaveDefinedUpsetClosestBeing MarriedNonviolent CommunicationAppointmentsDentalHappiness Now Author:Marshall B. Rosenberg
“Let me thus praise You in the way You love best: by shining on those around me. Let me preach You without preaching, not by words, but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You. Amen.” WayHeartForceLove IsInfluenceExampleBearsMy HeartLet MePraiseShiningPreachingEvidentFullnessCatchingSympatheticAmen Book:No Greater Love, Commemorative Edition Source: No Greater Love, Commemorative Edition