We’re pleased to bring you Sparks of Inspiration, a new monthly series where Fr. Gregory will share a book recommendation that sparks curiosity, reflection, or just makes for a great read! Each month, he’ll choose a book, provide a short excerpt, and offer a brief explanation on why he thinks it’s an interesting and valuable read.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your faith, expand your horizons, or simply enjoy a good book, Sparks of Inspiration is here to guide you. Check out the first recommendation below, and let’s journey through these inspiring reads together!

Got a book suggestion or something you’d love to see featured? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The Law of Love: Modern Language for Ancient Wisdom
Richard Leonard, SJ
Paulist Press
New York/Mahwah, NJ 2021
Pages: 9-11

It is a fascinating reflection on the relationship between obedience to the rules and freedom. The author gives new insight into how to approach catholic moral teaching in a life-giving way. 

Fr. Greg

From the book:

Preface:

In thinking about the law of love, we must face up to the fact that some people balk at the words law and love being in the same sentence. I understand their hesitation, given that the purest sense of love never carries with it an obligation to a code but is a freely offered gift and an exchange. As we will soon see, the way Jesus and John and Paul use the concept of the law of love is not as a book of rules to obey but as the wellspring that guides all choices, determinations, decisions, and even sometimes duties in our lives. It is not meant to be burdensome and one way, but a reciprocal gift-giving. Here is a story about when that theory became practice in my own life.

My family is not demonstrative. We don't have those "love you darling" signoffs at the end of every phone call. A firm handshake for the men and a peck on the cheek for the women is as good as it gets. During my final high school retreat, I was challenged to "never leave this world not having told the people that you love that you love them." At seventeen, I had never told my mother, brother, or sister I loved them, and they had never said it to me either. My father died when I was two, so I came back from my school retreat on a mission. My sister was then working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and my brother was working interstate.

I sat down and wrote them letters telling them that I loved them.

I have never had a reply, from either of them!

That left my mother. I stayed in one Saturday night and, after dinner, I was in my bedroom. I was so nervous at what I was about to do, you would swear I was about to ask my mother to marry me. I approached the lounge room where Mum was watching the 7:00 p.m. news. I blurted out, "Mum, I have something very important to tell you." My mother, not taking her eyes from the screen, casually said, "Oh, yes, what's that?" "No," I responded,

"I've never told you this before, and it's very important that I tell you tonight."

My mother slowly turned off the TV and turned toward me.

Now I could tell there were two hearts pumping and two tummies churning in that room. Decades later my mother told me that she was saying to herself, "Whatever he says next-keep calm, keep calm, keep calm."

I plucked up all my courage and came straight out with it.

"Mum, I just want to tell you that I love you." Mum thought it was the warm-up for the big news yet to come.

"Is that it?"

"Yes. Before I die, I wanted to be able to say that I had told you that I love you."

"You're not terminally ill, are you?"

"No, I hope to die an old man, but before then I wanted to tell you I love you."

Such was her relief she said, "Goodness me, I hope so," and promptly turned on the television.

As I walked back to my bedroom I said aloud, "I don't think it was supposed to go like that." There were no violins playing, no warm embraces or statements like, "At least one of you three ingrates has turned up to tell me that you love me."

What did happen was that my brother and my sister wrote to my mother, "We've had these very weird letters from him." '

"O, bully for you," my mother replied, "I've had the whole episode in person. But don't worry, it's a phase he's going through." I hope it's a phase I will never get over, because I am baptized in the love of God made visible in Christ. Following Jesus's example, then, how do we work out who we love? Ask one ques-tion: For whom would you die? In my experience that shortens the "I love you" list considerably, and if your dog or cat is seriously on that list, you need therapy immediately. For while we can enjoy our pets, dying for them establishes that our priorities need reordering.

One of the problems is that we now say we love our car, our house, and ice cream, but things can't love us back. Added to this is how we regularly tell people that we don't love that we love them. These days it's often for sex, or we say "I love you" out of obligation or a bad habit, but we don't actually mean it.

And because we know that actions are more telling than words, we don't easily believe others when they tell us they love us. We can feel unlovable and cynical about the whole experience, which does not help when God whispers it in our ear continuously. We may not trust God, either.

To assist us in reclaiming that we can trust love as the definitive point of the Christian revelation, here are reflections on some of the great biblical texts on the law of love: the Ten Commandments; the Beatitudes; the Lord's Prayer; love God and love your neighbor as yourself; and 1 Corinthians 13, which says that love is kind and patient. The best outcome from this book would be that by its end we agree only to tell the people that we actually love that we love them, and then live out the love we profess. We would change the world.