WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021
“To love like Christ means saying ‘no’ to other ‘loves’ that the world offers us: love of money, love of success, vanity… These deceptive paths of “love” distance us from the Lord’s love and lead us to become more and more selfish, narcissistic, overbearing. And being overbearing leads to a degeneration of love, to abuse others, to making our loved ones suffer… To love as the Lord loves us means to appreciate the people beside us, to respect their freedom, to love them as they are, not as we want them to be, gratuitously. Ultimately, Jesus asks us to abide in His love, to dwell in His love, not in our ideas, not in our own self-worship. Those who dwell in self-worship live in the mirror: always looking at themselves… Opening our heart to others, this is love, giving ourselves to others.” Pope Francis