The Language of Love

I try to wear daily my medallions of the Holy Family: one for each of our children, James, Thomas, Claire, and baby Grace who was born at rest this past August. I look forward to wearing another medal when baby number five arrives in July. Our diocese distributes these medallions at each infant baptism (or burial rites in the case of Grace), and our children love to crawl on my lap and look for their individual medallions I wear around my neck. The children have learned much about Mary the perfect mother, Joseph the guardian of Christ, and Jesus the savior child by admiring these simple pieces of jewelry. The Holy Family also calls our family toward holiness as we pray together to be more like Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in our relationships with each other.

Today, our bishop, the Most Reverend James D. Conley, issued a beautiful letter on the importance of family life toward salvation and the transformative power of love in our hurting world. "The Language of Love" is filled with poignant statements on self-sacrifice and openness toward God's merciful will in the covenantal bond of marriage. Here are some excerpts that fill my heart with love:

Sacrifice is the language of love.  Love is spoken in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who poured out his life for us on the cross. Love is spoken in the sacrifice of the Christian life, sharing in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  And love is spoken in the sacrifice of parents, and pastors, and friends.

We live in a world short on love.  Today, love is too often understood as romantic sentimentality rather than unbreakable commitment. But sentimentality is unsatisfying.  Material things, and comfort, and pleasure bring only fleeting happiness.  The truth is that we are all searching for real love, because we are all searching for meaning. 

And further on in his letter, Bishop Conley concludes:

Today, openness to children is rarely celebrated, rarely understood, and rarely supported.  To many, the Church’s teachings on life seem oppressive or old-fashioned.  Many believe that the Church asks too great a sacrifice. 

But sacrifice is the language of love.  And in sacrifice, we speak the language of God himself.  I am calling you, dear brothers and sisters, to encounter Christ in your love for one another.  I am calling you to rich and abundant family life.  I am calling you to rejoice in the love, and the sacrifice, for which you were made.  I am calling your family to share in the creative, active love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I pray that in true sacrifice, each of you will know perfect joy.

Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Annunciation, the Holy Family, and in the love of Jesus Christ,

You may hear Bishop Conley's letter in full, available here.