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| http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Giovanni_Paolo_Panini_-_Interior_of_St._Peter |
Some people fall in love with individuals. Hopefully, this
love bears fruit and the two people involved get married.
But, sometimes, people fall in love with a family. I have
witnessed this type of love several times, especially in the young. But, even
those who are older can fall into a love for an entire clan. Many moons ago,
Americans had a love affair with the Kennedys. Some Catholic loved the von
Trapp family.
Charles Ryder in Brideshead
Revisted fell in love with a family.
I know another young person who fell in love with a family, as he had
practically no family at all. If the good families recognize this love, they
invite the person to become part of the family.
One can fall in love with God’s family, the one, true, holy,
Catholic, and apostolic Church. One of the gifts that God has given me for
almost my entire life, as long as I can remember, is a great love for the
Church.
I am passionate about the Church.
I love the Mystical Body, the Body of Christ in all the
glory of God, and even in the darkness of certain times.If one loves the
Church, one does not merely love the ideal, but the reality of the Church.
To love the Church is to suffer pain. To love the Church is
to love the Bride of Christ which is not always as perfect as she could be. But,
Christ sees the Church pure, spotless, in all eternity as the great Love He
bestowed on the is earth for our benefit.
No matter if there are blemishes, Love sees with the eyes of
faith and hope. From love flows faith in the Church as Christ’s creation for
our salvation on earth. From love comes hope for her renewal.
I cannot tell you, I cannot put into words the love I feel
for the Church. It is almost a
“priestly” love, a love of the celibate, a love which has no bounds. Perhaps
this is one reason I pray for seminarians and why I have many priest friends.
A long time ago, my mother asked me why so many of my
friends were priests and nuns. I thought about this and realized that it was
the Church I loved, and these chosen ones were clear representatives of my
Love. Another person in my family got sick of my pre-occupation with the
Church. Do we not become “full” of the person we love?
Do we not want to talk about our beloved all the time? Do we
not think of our loved one constantly and want to be with him and serve him?
Christ founded the Church for me, for you, for all humans.
Can you not love the Church passionately as well? Love
covers a multitude of sins.
