1 Corinthians 13 vs 2: “² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a Faith that can move mountains, but do not have Love, I am nothing…”

In my experience, there can be no stronger evidence for God having been infused into an incarnate being, through the Holy Spirit, than when one can behold the Love of God – so limitless and blissful – radiating from within the heart of a true devotee of The One we Christians call our Father in Heaven. The verse quoted above from 1^st Corinthians says it all; Without Love, neither the supernatural graces of prophecy nor an intellect of exceptional ability, nor even such gifts of Spirit as Faith, Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge would amount to anything without that one supreme Gift that holds all other things together…Love!

Now, Love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul has told us (Romans 5:5). And Love is what motivated the preaching and heroic actions of the Apostles and Saints ever since.  Such is the Love that is still the particular sign – the evidence, if you will – that a new believer in Christ offers as the reason they know they have been called to conversion. To a “change of direction” in one’s course in life.  To a “going into the higher mind”.  A “turning around”. These expressions are the more accurate translations of that word, “conversion”, though most are not aware of its deeper meaning. 

The power of this Divine Infusion of Love is so profound in the life of the spirit that its influence remains long after the experience has faded.  If anything, what was begun as a seed infusion of Love grows ever more transformative over time.  As it grows, it provides the strength needed for the person to be able to turn away from whatever in one’s past was not in accord with this new path that it has been offered.  A Path of Healing, Wholeness and Reconciliation with one’s true Self and with one’s neighbor. 

In my own journey, Love has been the magnetic force emanating from my deepest center that continues to draw all lesser desires, inclinations, and confusion-of-opposites toward itself.  Without that Love, that free, unearned Gift of God, nothing would have convinced me that there was even a reason why I should turn my life around.  It takes such a dynamic force as Love to shine a Light on one’s darkness’s. That silent Light revealed to me that what I thought were my identifying characteristics; my “personality” once upon a time, were really just the cleverly constructed façade of my ego in defense of itself.  It’s “identity”.  The ego fears nothing more than a threat to its identity.  But Love gently and powerfully overcomes all such resistance.  What one needs to do, and to continue to do, is to surrender to it and allow itself to be guided. As Jesus Himself has said, “The Spirit will lead you into all Truth” 

TODAY – I offer this Prayer to All those who are observing this Holy Season of LENT and to All those who are reading this, whatever their present state or Faith Tradition, or lack there-of, that you rest quietly for a few minutes at some point today, mute your phones, silence your devices, and send out a wordless yearning from your heart to the Divine. Invite the Love into your life; your heart, your center of being, your finances, your health, your family relationships, your job situation…. Invite that Love to Come Now! (“Maranatha” Come, LORD; the Christian Mantra of the Benedictine Monk Fr. John Main, if you prefer using a word to anchor your attention) Invite with Faith… Hope… Trust.  And if you feel it.  Or, if you feel so inclined, remain there quietly in silence for another 15 minutes.  Be Still, Open, Receptive, Awaiting,…. May you be richly and abundantly blessed this very day!