Show Me

I am sure you have had the experience of hearing a song, once or many times over, and the refrain sticks in your mind….What is coming to my mind right now is a song refrain “because we love God, we do what we do….because we love God.”  The words seem rather simple, and yet there are layers of meaning here….if we were to sit down and identify “what we do”…each day, each week—and ask ourselves the question, “Am I doing this because I love God?” or, to put it another way, “Does what I do reflect my love for God?  –or does my love for something else…myself, my own interests, my prejudices, my fears…creep in?

So many times we cannot understand why Jesus calls us to do something difficult; we cannot explain why our Catholic tradition asks us to do or not to do something; we hesitate to make the sacrifice entailed in caring for others selflessly. When we experience these challenges, the phrase “Because we love God…” might ring in our ears and resound in our hearts…and help us do what we need to do. There may not be a logical, practical answer to the questions we have…but our love for our God who made us, calls us, blesses us might give us the courage we need to do what we know is right.  A little anecdote to illustrate:  In My Fair Lady, Eliza Doolittle is fed up with Freddy’s letters and his daily protestations of love.  In total frustration, she sings the song, “Show me.” In the song she says she’s sick of words…”if there’s any love burning in your heart,” she sings, “show me.” And so it is with our love for God…love is not love until it is put into action.  God bless your week—may it be filled with love!

– Sr. Marie Paul Grech, SND