Here Now & Always Forever

I used to think that love existed in the past, but that is never the case with love. Past love is just that, something experienced in the past, often remembered through the lens of nostalgia or felt with sorrow when lost or broken. Both types of past love (nostalgia and sorrow) are deeply felt in the depths of our hearts.

You might easily believe that God designed the human heart to be a tabernacle for love, but that does not seem to be the case. Yes, our memories are stored in our minds and in our hearts, but love is not truly kept, be that in our hearts or elsewhere. Love cannot be stored nor retrieved. Love is a choice, not a feeling, in the here and now. Love is not an act of the heart, but an act of the will in the present moment. Love is sustainable in the present moment but only by grace, which sustains love always and forever.

Love is only possible in the present moment or something that awaits us always and forever. Love truly exists only in the here and now. And we must choose to participate in love. If we wait for love, then we are really only experiencing the anticipation of love, not love itself. The love that awaits us is accessible only through the present moment. That is why to continue to love, grace is necessary. God sustains us in his love, which is ever present. So with the power of grace, we are capable of continually choosing to love now and always.

Love exists like music. You have memories of hearing the music, its melody, and its lyrics, if applicable. However, music, like love, exists when made present in the here and now. For example, if you are like me, you might struggle to recall the tune or lyrics to a song until someone whistles the tune or recites the chorus, until the music is made present. The music is known by making it present in the here and now. Yes, there might be a distinction between recorded music and live music, but recorded music is only known when played as if it were live, as if it were present in the here and now. Recorded music is live music imitated, like a greeting card or a love letter. We desire live music over recorded music, just as we need love in the present moment instead of recalling past love or anticipating future love. Even a love letter attempts to make love present by connecting the person to remembered love or to anticipated love, promised to be made present in the future.

Believing that love awaits us is how we have hope for the future. We are in need of faith as we eagerly anticipate the giving and receiving of love. Faith or trust in the person who promises love is essential if one has hope that such anticipated love is to be made present. We have hope if we trust in the promise of love. 

With God, who is love, love awaits us continually and so love is always at hand. That is the reign of God, here at hand now, and always forever. This here and always is only possible with God, for He is the source of love. Ultimately God promises the love that is forever made present in Heaven. Yet God makes possible for love to be made present now, despite our sinful nature. That is why the Paschal Mystery of Christ is key to both the promise and the reality of love. In Christ, love is made present here now, and love awaits us always and forever in Heaven.

The Wall of Your Heart

When affairs of the heart are involved, there is a wall often deployed to protect the heart from potential or perceived harm. Call this a security feature or defense mechanism. Yet the wall of the heart is not there to only protect from harm but also to contain all that loves. This is a wonderful design by God. Yet like most things in a fallen world, the designs of God are often twisted in their misuse.

The wall of the heart surrounds the sanctuary of the heart, that innermost, intimate aspect of the person that holds love in a constant embrace. This embrace of love is an act of perpetual motion in the heart, yet also an experience of peaceful stillness. The wall is secured in its foundation to hold that stillness within the sanctuary of the heart. The protected sanctuary in the splendor of its brilliance vibrates from that perpetual embrace of love. This is the basic activity of the heart.

The sanctuary of the heart is where God dwells, waits for us, walks with us, abides in us. To enter this sanctuary is properly by invitation only for others because intimacy of the heart is reserved for God and for those whom God has set aside for us and presents to us for life and love.

You might be too open with others by allowing the light from the sanctuary of the heart to shine forth, causing blindness to those invited but who are not prepared to receive your heart. Or the light might break open the darkness allowing love to shine forth. That is the risk of being vulnerable with another person. Such vulnerability is the space where the heart can thrive in love or experience great loss.

The wall of the heart is that of a barrier. Yet one can work on building up this barrier of the heart to be so tall, so thick, so massive that nothing can break it down. If the heart is overly protected, then the heart hardens, and the sanctuary of the heart becomes a void. The barrier then becomes so impenetrable that no light can shine in the heart, no rain can wash the heart clean, no wind can break through the emptiness. The barrier wall of the heart is there to withstand the storms that can overwhelm us. The wall is there to protect the sanctuary, yes, but never to harden the heart.

The wall of your heart is intended to be permanent yet supple. The wall is a permanent barrier only like a protective coating, an outer layer of defending what is inside. The wall of your heart needs to be strengthen by the experiences of both love and loss. So grace is essential and necessary to express love properly and endure loss salvifically.

Anything that impacts the wall can strengthen your heart properly, to become what God intended in his design, if your heart accepts grace. The more the wall takes, the stronger the heart can become because it is able to bend with grace, but never break against the storms. That is why the wall of your heart is to be supple by the power of grace. 

The wall of your heart is to be translucent allowing light to shine through, so darkness may not take its hold on your heart. The wall of your heart is to be permeable allowing rain to wash away what drowns it and soak in what nourishes your heart.

The heart is after all a muscular organ that functions like any muscle, being used strengthens it. A strong heart filled with grace pushes through the storms. A grace-strong heart keeps pumping even when the work seems too much. And a heart strengthen with grace flourishes in the design of God's plan for life and love.

Men Have Been Failing Women

Too many men have failed women. Perhaps this is just a reality of our fallen, sinful nature. But Christian men are called to go beyond the norms of society and to be counter culture.

Christian men, we need to ask ourselves: How have we failed to honor and uphold the dignity of women and girls? We, Christian men, have been empowered by the grace of Baptism. Yet too many of us continue to ignore, neglect, or even worse, despise grace. We have the grace necessary, now we need to find the courage and wisdom to change for the sake of women.

Christian men, repent and believe again in God's plan for life and love. Humble yourself before the Lord and then raise your banner for Christ.

Brothers, what have done today to honor the dignity of your sisters in Christ? Tell your sister that she is important to you and that you will stand between her and harm. And then do so, every day!

Fathers, how have you lifted your daughters of God so they know and believe they are cherished? Tell your daughter that she is precious in your eyes and in the eyes of the Lord. And then show her every hour!

Husbands, husbands! Shame on those men who desecrate any woman! She is a Tabernacle for Life! That is by God's design. Your gaze belongs to your wife, and no other! Your thoughts must come from a place of praise. Do you not realize the treasure that God has made in woman? Do you not realize she, your wife, was given to you by God? When you place work, power, prestige, sports, another person, or any earthly endeavor above her, you commit not only adultery, you commit idolatry. Tell your wife that she alone is your beloved. Tell her that you love her whatever the costs, no sacrifice for her is too great, no other person more valued than her. And then prove your valor every moment!

I do not chastise my brothers in Christ as one who is sinless or blameless. I stand before you brothers guilty. I am ashamed that I have neglect my duty. I was not there sufficiently either. I too have failed our sisters too often. But no longer! 

I humble myself before God, seeking His mercy and strength. I claim my inheritance as a son of God, called to remain no longer silent in the face of this evil we men have caused. I take up arms with those brothers of mine who too will carry this banner for Christ with me, for the sake of our sisters, for the sake of our daughters, for the sake of our wives, for the sake of every woman and for every girl.