The gift of love is the gift of the power and capacity to love, and therefore, to give love with full effect is also to receive it. So love can only be kept by being given away, and it can only be given perfectly when it is also received.
Interpretation
True love flourishes when it is shared, both in giving and receiving.
This quote by Thomas Merton emphasizes the reciprocal nature of love, suggesting that the more we share love with others, the more we cultivate it within ourselves. Love is not a finite resource; rather, it grows and strengthens through acts of giving and receiving, creating a profound connection between individuals.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a wedding ceremony to highlight the importance of love in marriage.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.
Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling.
Unselfish love does not exploit its object and it does not ask for anything in return.
In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.
If you look at romantic comedies as pieces of commerce, the audience is looking for wish fulfillment.
Lovers are the ones who know most about God; the theologian must listen to them.
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