{"id":1594,"date":"2020-08-23T19:37:12","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T00:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2020-08-26T16:00:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T21:00:17","slug":"ice-to-be-melted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abideinlove.com\/wp\/?p=1594","title":{"rendered":"Ice to be Melted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Concluding\ninsights from the sermons of Saint Sharbel (1828-1898).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Love is the ultimate purpose of our\nhuman existence. Our truest and deepest desires, planted by God, find their\nfulfillment as we become like Jesus and make a free and total gift of ourselves\nin a way that brings new life to many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharbel offers a powerful image to\nreflect on our ultimate calling, and the ways we tend to fight and resist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery human being \u2026 is like a piece\nof ice that someone tries to keep far from the fire so that it does not melt.\nWhat good is this piece of ice if it wants to preserve its form and its\nexistence at all costs? If the ice does not melt, it will not be able to soak\ninto the earth to water the land and to quench the thirst of human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love this image so much, because I\nfeel like parts of my heart are still thawing out after a deep freeze.\nSometimes I fight and resist, but when I yield, the warmth of the Holy Spirit\ndoes amazing things. I begin to see how this divine thawing brings new life to\nothers. The places in my heart that feel the most lost or broken are precisely\nthe ones that God blesses and works through to bring his love to others.\nWhenever that happens, my soul is filled with gratitude and praise for God\u2019s\namazing plans, and I realize that it\u2019s all been worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, of course, some new difficulty\narises, and I start the cycle of resistance and fighting all over again \u2013 at least\nit feels that way sometimes! Lately, the Lord has been giving me repeated\ninvitations to draw near to the warmth of the Holy Spirit and stop fearing the\nfire of his love. I am meant to be melted so that I can be poured out and\ngiven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year at Pentecost, we Christians pray for docility and surrender as we call upon the Holy Spirit in the Sequence:<\/p>

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.<\/em><\/p>\n

Truly, our hearts are wounded and need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We are dry soil that aches for the moisture he brings. We long to be washed by him. We are rigid and inflexible, and often prefer to stay frozen \u2013 yet deep down we long to be melted by him. We fight the notion of being told what steps to take, yet find that our own willfulness only enslaves us.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great paradox of Christian\ndiscipleship is that we only find freedom in the Cross of Jesus. His dying and\nrising are at the center of every liturgical year and of every week of our\nlives. As Sharbel puts it, \u201cThe whole universe moves around the mystery of the\nCross \u2026 He who does not live the mystery of the Cross cannot understand the\nmystery of the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We center our liturgical year around\nthe Paschal Mystery of Jesus in Holy Week and Easter. We center every week\naround Sunday. But do we center our hearts around this core truth? I know for\nmyself that I sometimes do and sometimes don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the Cross, \u201clove\u201d ceases to be Love. There are many counterfeits. Sharbel offers a tribute to Love that reminds me very much of Paul\u2019s famous words in 1 Corinthians. It is worth quoting at length:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love is not an attachment, because it is freedom, whereas an attachment enslaves. God is freedom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love must not be taken solely as a human affection; it is a divine force of creation, a force of heavenly resurrection\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is neither a feeling nor a habit nor an attachment nor an idea. He is Reality and Life, and a Creator who gives life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love is gratuitous, and to be given it demands nothing in return \u2026 The love that comes from a human being returns to him. When the love springs from the human being himself, he loves himself, regardless of how strong the love is. However, if a human being draws his Love from God, he is naturally oriented towards others \u2026The human being whose love emanates from himself loves himself through others, while thinking that he loves others.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never confuse Love and desire, Love and affection, Love and habit, Love and attachment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is so much to ponder in\nSharbel\u2019s words, but two points leap off the page at me: the freedom involved\nand the divine origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love is freely received and freely given. No one takes my life from me; I lay it down freely. Until we learn to be truly receptive, like Jesus and Mary, we will struggle with making a free gift of ourselves. But as we receive the warmth of the Holy Spirit, we find a growing willingness to give freely and wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love is from on high. It becomes truly human, and we cannot become fully human without it. Yet we cannot create it for ourselves. It is a gift. Only by God\u2019s grace can we receive it and give it. And even then, only if we are willing to die and rise with Jesus will we find the freedom to receive it and give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is so much joy in our ultimate\ndestiny \u2013 being melted like that piece of ice, poured out to bring life and\nfruitfulness. It is understandable that we resist, for fear of losing\nourselves. May each of us learn to receive the divine gift of Love. May we\nallow the Holy Spirit to draw near with his fire. May he indeed bend our\nstubborn wills and melt our frozen hearts. May we become the gift of Love we\nwere always destined to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concluding insights from the sermons of Saint Sharbel (1828-1898). Love is the ultimate purpose of our human existence. Our truest and deepest desires, planted by God, find their fulfillment as we become like Jesus and make a free and total gift of ourselves in a way that brings new life to many. Sharbel offers a … <\/p>\n

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