Can you order someone to love? If we understand love as a feeling, it's obviously impossible! But if we understand it as a gift from God, things change.
In the Letter to the Romans, from which the Word of Life is taken, Paul precisely describes the relationship between Law and love, and affirms that love is the full fulfillment of the Law. Shortly before, he has revealed to us where this love comes from: «The proof that God loves us is that Christ, while we were still sinners, died for us» (Rm 5, 8). For its part, the First Letter of John says: «This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins» (1 Jn 4, 10).
«"Charity does no harm to one's neighbor. Charity, therefore, is the law in its fullness."».
No one can give what they do not have. Augustine understood this well when, addressing God directly, he asked: "Give what you command and command what you will."«[1]. We have received the priceless gift of God's love and are called not to keep it to ourselves, but to share it. We can become subjects instead of mere recipients of God's love: we can move from beloved to lovers, and thus participate in the very life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Lover, the Beloved, and Love.
We owe no one anything except the love of one another – Paul comforts us – for whoever loves another has fulfilled the Law (cf. Rm 13, 8).
«"Charity does no harm to one's neighbor. Charity, therefore, is the law in its fullness."».
«True love of neighbor causes no harm,» says Chiara Lubich. “That is, it leads us to live all of God’s commandments without exception, since their primary purpose is to lead us to avoid all forms of evil into which we might fall, whether against ourselves or against our brothers and sisters.”[2].
Understood in this way, the commandments of the Law become a gift of God's love rather than an obligation: they do not constrain our love, but rather fully liberate it.
«"Charity does no harm to one's neighbor. Charity, therefore, is the law in its fullness."».
To achieve this "full realization," the first step in loving our neighbor is to do no harm. But we also need to be creative in love: "It is not enough to refrain from harming our neighbor," Pope Francis reminded us; "it is necessary to choose to do good, taking advantage of opportunities to bear good witness that we are disciples of Jesus."«[3].
How then can we live this Word of Life? Let us put love back at the center of our lives. Let us love others concretely, as Jesus would love them: He is the fullness of love, who gives himself completely to God and to humanity. From Him we can learn the true measure of love.
«"Charity does no harm to one's neighbor. Charity, therefore, is the law in its fullness."».
Doris, a Scottish girl, tells us: «On our regular visits to a homeless shelter, I enter a world very different from my own. I know that what matters isn’t so much what I feel, but loving. One day, a man who reflected a deep sadness confessed to me that he was ready to end it all, that he even wanted to die. I simply listened to him; then we had a sandwich and a coffee together. And I understood that listening and being present was already a way of showing love. When it was time for me to leave, he gave me a big hug, smiled at me, and told me that what we were doing was very important, not only for him, but for everyone there. I felt the incredible power of love. Perhaps I didn’t “save” him, but his gratitude filled me with joy, and that, in itself, is very powerful.».
Claudio Cianfaglioni and the Word of Life team
[1] Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, X, 29, 40: da quod iubes et iube quod vis.
[2] C. Lubich, Word of Life, September 1993: Words of Life/2 (1991-2006) (ed. F. Ciardi), Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2026, p. 77.
[3] Francis, General Audience, 3-1-2018: The Encounter with the Risen Lord. Catechesis on the Holy Mass, Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2018, p. 48.
