Love: A Total Gift of Self

Hence everyone who wishes to enter the Congregation must also give up the whole world for the love of God, but must believe that he always gives very little, unlike God who, though we are sinners, has given us his eternal Son. (OOCC, II, p. 5)

 Love, for St. Vincent Pallotti, is a total self-giving. It also means that a person is ready to give himself for others in the same way Jesus gave himself, without any reservation for the salvation of humankind. Similarly, true love must resemble the love of God the Father for every human person, for he did not spare his own Son, but gave him for the redemption of the human race. Thus, genuine love implies that a person attempts to love others in the same way God the Father and Jesus his Son have loved. One may wonder if it is possible to imitate the love of the Divine Persons, that is, that of the Father and the Son. According to St. Vincent, it is a possibility every human person can achieve if he lives his love in the context of his everyday living. It involves having compassion for those in need, showing respect for everyone, paying attention to those who have no one to care, giving everyone the honor he deserves, and giving good example to others. It also entails taking on the burdens of others, caring for their needs, and doing those things that serve the needs of our neighbor. St. Vincent wanted everyone who wished to join the congregation he founded to be ready to give up the whole world and give himself in love to others, imitating the love of the Father and that of his Son, while believing that he has done very little.

Do I consider love as a total self-giving of myself to others? Am I able to love others in the same manner the Father and the Son loved humankind? How do I express my total self-giving in the context of my daily life? Do I practice this genuine self-giving in the context of my life within the religious community?

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (Jn. 15: 13)