God created mankind in his image; In the image of God he created them;
Male and female he created them. (Gn 1:27)
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. (1 Jn 4:16)
In God's Image, Men and Women
Are Made for Love!
"There now seems to be a free-for-all idea of ""love""—personally decided and self-centered—that often leads to heartbreak and unhappiness. Is that what God intends when he is called ""Love"" by the writers of the New Testament? What does it mean when we talk about love—and God's calling for us to love him and those around us?
A Love That Lasts
Opening Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:25-28
Opening Prayer
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. —I John 4:7–12
The first chapter of the Bible tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. That it is God who is love. We are made in the image of the Holy Trinity whose inner life is all about total self-giving love. This is how we are wired. We are only going to find our fulfillment and happiness in life when we live total self-giving love in our relationships with God and others in our lives.
So, what is meant by total self-giving love?
Symbolon: Pt 2: Session 7: A Love that Lasts: Discovering Authentic Love
13.5 minutes (from4:40-18:14)
We are all made to love and be loved.
“Man cannot live without love…his life is senseless if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience love…, if he does not participate intimately in love.” ~Saint John Paul II
GOD CALLS US TO A PERFECT LOVE
The Ten Commandments can be summarized into two
Jesus says
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39)
The Commandment to love our neighbor calls us to:
Selfless love
Self-giving love
Sacrificial love
Service Oriented love
GREEKS: FOUR TYPES OF LOVE
Storge (family love):
love of surrounding persons, animals or things
Philia (friendship love):
love freely chosen due to mutual compatibility and common values
Eros (passionate love):
love for the supremely beautiful and desirable, not necessarily of a sexual nature but also of an aesthetic or spiritual nature.
Agape (self-giving love):
love characterized by generous self-donation without concern for reward
These distinctions are important when discerning marriage, because the intensity of eros love may blind one to the absence of other types of love that are necessary for a successful and sustainable Christian marriage.
SELF-SACRIFICIAL (AGAPE) LOVE
Jesus says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)
True love, whether expressed through a vocation to the single, married or celibate state of life, always involves the self-donation for the well-being of others
Authentic love is more than eros, that passionate love that suddenly overcomes a person, causing him or her to look inward and focus on the good feelings and the pleasure one receives in a romantic relationship.
Love must also be agape, that total, committed, unconditional, and even sacrificial love. This is the love that God has for us and the kind of love that we are to have for each other, especially in marital love. Eros and agape are not intrinsically opposed. However, when eros is taken completely separately from agape, it becomes selfish, not focused on the other, and can turn into a using of the other person (Deus Caritas Est, 6). But when eros and agape are united in Christ and the love of eros ascends to the love of agape, love becomes a true self gift and willing the good for the other (Deus Caritas Est, 10). If we desire true love and happiness, we must learn how to desire the best for those we love and strive to give rather than receive in our relationships
What are some of the characteristics of agape love?
Why does agape love fulfill us in ways that eros alone cannot?
Agape love focuses not on what we can get out of a relationship, but on wanting the best and highest good for the other person.
It looks toward giving, rather than getting.
It mirrors God’s love in the Trinity and God’s love for us.
Because it is an essential part of God’s plan for all humanity, it fulfills our needs both to love and be loved in a way that nothing else can.
Symbolon: Pt 2: Session 8: A Love that Lasts: God's Plan for Sexuality
(From 2:48-12:42) 10.06 minutes
We have just learned about the Catholic view on sexuality. Jesus Christ revealed the fullness of love—a love that is free, total, faithful, and fruitful. In marriage, we reflect Christ’s fullness of love (CCC 1617).
In the sexual act, a couple’s physical union is meant to express a profound personal union. Through the act, the couples say with their bodies, “I give myself to you totally and faithfully, holding nothing back—I give myself to you spiritually, emotionally, and physically” (CCC 2360–2361).
There are many ways we can engage in sexuality that keep us from total self-giving. We can engage in sex without a lifelong commitment or withhold our fertility. When this happens, sex is no longer a total gift of self. It instead becomes a using of the other person. Chastity and self-mastery create the foundation for lifelong, lasting love. We are all called to live chastely, whether married or single, because chastity involves the self-mastery needed for the proper use of our sexuality. If we have sinned in our sexuality, Jesus wants to heal and forgive us and help us move forward in life with him. He does this especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The dignity of the human person comes from being made in God’s image.
It has been said that sex is like atomic power. When used according to God’s plan, it creates massive amounts of energy...but when used contrary to God’s plan, it destroys. What are some examples that demonstrate this point?
(Abortion, divorce, abuse, prostitution, human trafficking, rape, pornography, contraception, the objectification and exploitation of human beings…these are all serious consequences of using sex contrary to God’s plan.
Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “The family is the center and the heart of the civilization of love” [Letter to Families, 13]. The misuse of sex destroys families and results in the moral decline of society.)
The world often regards sex as something fun and pleasurable, but not as the deepest expression of love and self-gift. This can cause a lot of emotional pain and broken relationships.
The world separates sex and marriage, which leads to a distorted view of sex. This can lead to the acceptance and even celebration of such things as promiscuity, masturbation, pornography, and contraception.
The Church sees sex as a great gift through which a man and woman come to the deepest expression of love and a complete gift of self—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The Church recognizes the marital act as part of the free, faithful, and fruitful union of husband wife that reflects Christ’s love for the Church.)
Our sexuality affects all aspects of our person in both body and soul. It especially concerns our capacity to love and to procreate (CCC 2332).
The union of man and woman in marriage is meant to be a reflection of Christ’s love (CCC 2335).
In marriage, a couple’s physical union is meant to express a profound personal union (CCC 2360).
The spouses’ union is for both the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two cannot be separated without harming the couple’s spiritual life (CCC 2363).
Various forms of sexual expression keep us from total self-giving:
Conjugal love is intended to be fertile and procreative (CCC 2366).
Contraception was supposed to make marriages better, but from 1965 to 1975 the divorce rate doubled. Why do you think that is?
(Couples waited to have children and they had fewer children. Children help parents to grow in virtue, as a couple realizes that it is no longer just about them—they are now responsible for the care and formation of their child. This has a powerful impact in bonding a couple. They are more willing to work through their problems when they have children. Secondly, the divorce rate doubled because contraception made adultery more tempting as it removed the consequences of a child out of wedlock. Thirdly, with fewer children and more women working, women did not necessarily need a man’s income. In addition, most adulterous affairs begin in the workplace. Finally, contraception has led to more premarital sex and unmarried couples living together [cohabitation], which has been shown to increase the chances of divorce, unwanted pregnancies, and abortion.)
Our sexuality affects all aspects of our person in both body and soul. It especially concerns our capacity to love and to procreate (CCC 2332).
The union of man and woman in marriage is meant to be a reflection of Christ’s love (CCC 2335).
In marriage, a couple’s physical union is meant to express a profound personal union (CCC 2360).
The spouses’ union is for both the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two cannot be separated without harming the couple’s spiritual life (CCC 2363).
Various forms of sexual expression keep us from total self-giving:
Conjugal love is intended to be fertile and procreative (CCC 2366)
SAINT JOHN PAUL II
Philosophical perspective
Love and Responsibility book
All earthly creatures have bodies and a means of procreation
Human procreation is unique, as children need committed, long term parental care
Primary purpose of sex is procreation
Theological perspective
Theology of the Body Lectures
Humans made male and female in God’s image
God is a trinity, a lover by nature, so humans made to love and be loved
Our bodies allow us to unite in a self-giving, loving union
Primary purpose of sex is a loving union of two persons who become one
Both perspectives offer important insights
From Pope Saint John Paul II
“Consequently, sexuality, by means of which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is by no means something purely biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and a woman commit themselves totally to one another until death. The total physical self-giving would be a lie if it were not the sign and fruit of a total personal self-giving, in which the whole person, including the temporal dimension, is present: if the person were to withhold something or reserve the possibility of deciding otherwise in the future, by this very fact he or she would not be giving totally.” (Familiaris Consortio, 11)
Closing Prayer
God, my Father, may I love you in all things and above all things. May I reach the joy which you have prepared for me in heaven. Nothing is good that is against your will, and all that is good comes from your hand. Place in my heart a desire to please you and fill my mind with thoughts of your love, so that I may grow in your wisdom and enjoy your peace. —http://www.catholic.org/prayers
Thank you to Lisa Juriga for this wonderful explanation
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