Christian love isn’t easy. Jesus takes humility and makes it the measure of how mature or real our love really is. Do we truly have a servant’s heart, like Jesus, or is our love self-seeking? Will we lay down our life, or will we protect our ego? It’s easy to love those who are attractive and agreeable. What about those who are insignificant, troublesome, or even offensive?
Take some time to sit with these 12 questions, like an examination of conscience, and see where your love still needs to grow or mature:
1. Have I loved my enemies, turned the other cheek in order to embrace those who hate me? Have I kept silent when I could have cut with my words?
2. Have I prayed for those who oppose or disagree with me?
3. Have I forgiven those who’ve hurt me, and asked God to forgive them, too?
4. Have I taken the high road when I’ve been slighted or ignored? Have I let go of grudges?
5. Have I risked humiliation and rejection in order to love another? Have I resisted the fear of being misunderstood, of not looking good, of not appearing strong or in control?
6. Have I stretched my heart in order to see those who are different or strange to me as fellow children of God?
7. Have I preferred the company of the attractive and the influential to that of the poor, the troublesome, and the broken?
8. Am I truly willing to lay down my life for friends and loved ones? How about for my enemies?
9. Have I been willing to “sweat blood” in order to be faithful to my commitments?
10. Am I willing to let my own heart be broken rather than violate someone else?
11. Have I resisted the urge to judge others or to impute motives?
12. Have I been willing to forgive myself, trusting enough in God’s love and mercy to pick myself up and begin again?

As Catholics, we know that we cannot “earn” our way to heaven, since salvation is a free gift, nor is salvation absolutely guaranteed, for we have free will and can always reject this free gift from God. Instead, we are to have faith. What we do with our lives may help or harm our faith journey. We are all sinners. We struggle with shame, addictions, or any number of sins or disorders. But one thing is certain, and it is this: God knows you and wants you to be with him for eternity.

How do we live lives of passion for our Lord while bringing others to him as well? We need to recognize that our attitudes and the tools we use to share the Good News matter - and some are better than others. To be effective in sharing the love of God and his Gospel, we need to get off our steamrollers and jump on our backhoes.

Satan, the accuser and father of lies, wants us to believe that God doesn’t really love us; that God can’t really be trusted and doesn’t want the best for us. That He’s just waiting for us to mess up, so He can punish us. Those are all lies, and we have to reject them and live in the truth that God does love us. He is trustworthy. He does want good for us. And coming to know Him and these truths is the path of healing, freedom, and a life of abundance.

With Fr. Bill on vacation, we had Fr. Jim Rigert, C.S.C., from the University of Portland preside at our 9:30am Mass this past weekend. He spoke of how we are meant to participate in the life of the Risen Christ through our faith, our hope, and our love when we love one another in the Lord.

Life on our beautiful but broken planet has always been threatened by dangerous natural forces, by chance, by sin, and by those mysterious dark powers at war with God and with life. Our mission as children of God is to "sparkle with self-forgetfulness": to stand in the breach, to intercede, and even sometimes to risk our lives out of love for our neighbor. So this week, as you’re offering your day to God each morning, insert this little petition - “Lord Jesus, give me an opportunity today to sparkle with self-forgetfulness.” - and see how He answers you.

Make an extra effort this week to be more attentive and hospitable to others - to welcome your neighbor and show them the love and care that recognizes their inherent dignity as a child of God.

We are called to love our neighbor regardless of our differences, which means we do not avoid, reject, or cancel others. Is this easy? No - but the most important things rarely are.