John, Chapter 11, Verse 36
So the Jews
said, “See how he loved him.”
Jesus’ love is this that death is no more; the
last enemy has been defeated. The Jews were the witness of this in their exclamation
at the raising of Lazarus, “See how he loved
him.” One, who has faith, even after
death, shall live; one who has faith and is alive will never really die. Of
this the restoration of Lazarus is the sign.[1]
After the resurrection of Lazarus those in power plotted to kill Jesus
because he destroyed the fear of death which was a major tool used by Satan
their father to control mankind.
Life a gift[2]
God does not require
anyone to pass an exam to merit birth. Life is a gift from our creator via our
parents. A child is not a trophy but a gift. Families are a communion of
persons essential to understanding love.
At the same time, the family home can often be the scene of pain as well. We
experience death through the self-taking of the world through greed,
manipulation, indulgence, and infatuation, which masquerade as love. Wounded, we begin to shy away
from the gift, to be coerced into choosing fear rather than love. Attacks on marriage and the
family, such as same-sex unions, no fault-divorce, free love, cohabitation,
pornography, and adultery are attacks on love
itself and the very identity of the human person. Healing means returning to
the original form of love we were
meant to learn as children. The gift of self makes love visible. As long as conflicts/anger is buried, they do not
heal. Yet our hearts long for love which
is our first memory. Love is the
authentic surrender of self for the good of the other. A fundamental truth of
Christ and the Catholic Church is this “Culture of Life” which stems from love.
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