To Know As I Am Known, To Love As I Am Loved
This is what awaits us. To love freely without restraint, in the vastness of eternity. To love with the love of God. Heaven is love perfected, an unbridled torrent of love that comes to no end.
"We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known." - 1 Corinthians 3:12
My friend sent me this verse and the last line pierced me. "Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known."
One sweet day, we shall be known as we are known, and love as we are loved. Who can fathom the treasures that await the faithful? To love fully and freely in an eternal capacity, with the fullness of knowledge and truth.
Here and now, we put up protective fortresses around our hearts to try and keep others from wounding them. One could say that the vulnerable are the truly strong ones. The good news is that love in heaven can't be given and then taken back; love in Heaven is an eternal act that resounds forever. To love as we are loved means to love as God loves us, and that is an unfathomably beautiful reality.
Love that comes to no end. This is what awaits us.
To know as I am known,
To love as I am loved,
This is what awaits us.
To love freely without restraint, in the vastness of eternity.
To love with the love of God.
Heaven is love perfected,
an unbridled torrent of love that comes to no end.
The word "Kairos" is an ancient Greek word that means "the right, critical, or opportune moment." In the fullness of time, in eternity, we will find ourselves being capable of loving as we have been loved. Just think of it, everyone loving each other in a rightly ordered fashion free from selfish motives with pure and undefiled unending love. Sounds pretty great if you ask me!
The Blessed Virgin Mary was undefiled by sin. This means She had contained within Her the capacity to love as She had been loved. This is literal as She had God in the flesh contained within Her womb. He who is love Himself was contained within Her! The perfect fullness of love that Mary experienced, made The Passion of Jesus Christ Her Son, more heartbreaking for Her, than for anyone else. As one is supposed to love God with their whole heart above all things, Mary loved God in perfect fullness, as a Daughter of The Father, Mother of The Son, and Spouse of The Holy Spirit. She loved God in The Flesh, as Her Son, with the perfect fullness of a mother's love. The highest form of love on earth is the love of a mother for her child. Now consider having God for your child. The two highest forms of love combined into one, and due to being free from all sin, you are qualified to have the perfect capacity to love right to the very core.
Mary didn't have any walls up preventing Her from experiencing emotions to their fullness. She didn't numb herself with anything, She didn't distract Herself, and She felt everything to the full magnitude. Perfected love for God, and perfected love as a Mother. Love undefiled, brought martyrdom of the heart to the dear Mother of Our Savior.
"She (Mary) without dying, earned the treasure of martyrdom beneath The Cross of Our Lord, for Her anguish."
Our Lady of Sorrows
Fallen human nature has weakened our ability to love fully. When faced with challenging circumstances, how often do we distract ourselves in some way, to prevent ourselves from facing head-on the suffering we're dealing with?
It's a bright and beautiful thought to think that one day, we will be able to love the way we were created to love, in wholehearted truth and fullness. Walls down, hearts open; fists unclenched, palms open.
For us women, we are called to be reflections of The Blessed Virgin Mary, "Persona Maria." If you want to love God well, pray to love God with the love of Mary. Nobody has a purer heart and a deeper love than She who is God's Mother.
Great beauty lies ahead my friends. Keep your eyes on the sky. The things of the earth are passing away, and soon it will be time for The Resurrection, where we shall find love in all its fullness and glory.
Serviam.
I pray that you have had a fruitful Lent, and that you have a blessed Holy Week.
March 30th is the Feast Day of Saint Peter Regulatus.