Love, the Source of the One and the Many

Published by Published on

Have you ever wondered what purpose philosophy really serves? Well, philosophy is the father of science. When philosophically approaching the categorization of beings, certain philosophical terms/concepts must be derived. Form and matter, act and potency, substance and accident, and essence and existence, all of these aspects of being come from answering the fundamental question of how beings came to be, remain, and come to not be any longer. The sum of these concepts strives to answer the questions of how all things are alike and different, unified and still individually distinct, and cohesive and yet divisible. In all these things if follow causal sequences we can trace love to be the active source and force behind all that is one and yet many.

We know from St. Paul's description of the implications of living the Gospel that love, "binds all things"(Colossians 3:14). There is no other source and force of harmony, joy, health, and wholeness than love. When we receive the love of others in the ways which we need, we are healed of our affliction through an intense communion with God because God is love. It is His essence, and it can flow through us to others. Even lesser goods, like ecosystems, are bound by a certain principle of balance even if it is not a direct manifestation of God’s love like it was in the case of human communion, it is never-the-less a “system of love”. A “system of love” consists of a “system” which at large and even in a particular work for not only the best-possible harmonious good within itself but also for the individuals within it and its neighboring systems. The ultimate example of this is the Church.

Love is also the source of the many. Love as we know is willing the good of the other without clear or certain reference/benefit to self. It is the natural self-diffuse mice quality of love that can spill over giving greater/more diverse expression to itself and even to existences. Even when God became incarnate, the climax moment of his love in expression and potency, He was stretched beyond Himself. How has He not loved us? Is His love not abounding in ways both tangible and not? We must also speak martial and Trinitarian love for in both love for the other becomes a decisively creative force in which not only the love of the two is maximized but the desire for another is realized. We are quite literally made of the culmination of marital love as our parents’ bodies meet they remain one in our very DNA and thereby they are made many. This physical expression of an already intense and non-physical love becomes a whole other being. This is echoed in the words of God in the original creation of man (Genesis 1:26).

In conclusion, it is not difficult to understand why God created. Neither is it difficult to notice to what extent we are called to participate not only in the Trinitarian love but also to share in His life. Indeed, every aspect of our being is formed by spiritual, then natural, supernatural love. Real love natural and without external imposition, moves beyond itself, ever-growing. Love joins all things in truth, goodness, and beauty. Where love is stifled or held back, there is destruction to our being because it is contrary to our nature i.e. our likeness to God. In all finite loves, an infinite love should be present. Just as we are made one by not only “systems of love” but also spiritual unity in God, we are made to be “more” by our own love and that of others. This “more” is expressed certainly expressed by every aspect of our personal growth but also by creation's natural disposition to multiply, to serve more needs than self, and to be made ever new. It is from God who is love, that we end up speaking in paradoxes like "source and summit".

O God your love makes me whole
I long to see your face
Your story continues from of old
one of salvation and grace.

Harmony pervades creation
Even amid sin.
You bring healing and Inness to every nation,
You bring us back no matter where we have been.

Your love erupts forth in creation,
It spills forth in excess.
It wells up within me at every station,
No greater love than your duress.
I am a created entity, not a person.

Most Viewed Posts

Divorce: Rupture of the Highest Human Communion

Published by Published on
Image
Building from  Commandments Toward Communion , and the Series on Love. Undoubtedly, in a culture where individualism is so esteemed, it is no wonder divorce rates soar and discussion of its immoral nature is avoided.[1] Whether we are discussing an indissoluble marriage or a friendship, division is not the will of God, because the closer the relationship the greater damage a rupture of communion brings. Divorce, producing preeminently negative effects, is a rupture of the foundational communion essential for society and the formation of children in love/holiness, severing the highest and most complete communion material man is capable of, and undermining the dignity of man, which rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion. First, divorce is a rupture of the foundational communion essential for society, severing the highest, most complete communion amid material man. Marriage (between a man and woman) is the most profound union that human beings can achieve, because ...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post

Irascible Love and Its Necessity

Published by Published on
Image
You may look at the first word in the title and think, "Now I know he isn't speaking English". I would say that isn't entirely false, because I have only seen Aquinas use it, but he had a way of naming/applying terms well. The irascible power is a power of the soul that deals with overcoming obstacles and difficulties, fortitude is the habit of appropriately using this power. This power is the other side of the coin of the concupiscible power, which is oriented towards seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, the irascible power is concerned with resisting and overcoming challenges that impede the pursuit of good. It includes passions such as hope, daring, fear, despair, and anger, which are directed towards arduous or difficult (accomplishing/obtaining) goods and (avoiding) evils. What is irascible love then? Irascible love is the kind of love we need to truly love well because the full gift of self (in ways not-directly/inherently-biological) is found nowhere else than i...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post

Where Psychology and Sociology Get It Wrong

Published by Published on
Image
If you have ever been through difficulty of the mind whether trauma, mental illness, and/or great struggle in one's life, then you have experienced something of what psychology and sociology have to offer. This has been a great help for many, yet something is missing. Accuracy is calculated by the following formula ((Observed value - target/actual value) divided by the target/actual value). Psychology/Sociology can find a regression or trend line of the human data points. This makes these sciences a "science of the norm" instead of a "science of law". Neither sociology nor psychology understands its object in its true context, and still more, do they evaluate humanity by objective criteria. "In the beginning" man was created aright. Man and Woman understood themselves, God, and each other. However, there was a force that hated him which was stronger than them, faster than them, and smarter than them. Man did not know the thoughts of God, but yet he kne...
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post