30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Written by Scarlett Rose Ford
As we end October and enter into November, we are stepping into the peak season of love. The temperature is falling and the number of couples on campus is rising. They hold hands for warmth while I hold cups of hot coffee alone in the library basement. Instead of going on dates, I go to a dark, cloistered carrel where I attempt to answer the age-old question: What is love?
Today’s psalm is one I’ve meditated on, prayed with, and cried to many times in my life: I love you, Lord, my strength. I have spoken these words from the depths of my soul, in both moments of consolation and desolation. The Lord is my strength through these times and I love Him, but what is love? Can we really say we love the Lord if we cannot define what love is?
Fortunately, we don’t have to look far for the answer to the question that philosophers, academics, and great thinkers of all ages have attempted to no avail. Today’s second reading showcases the greatest models of human love: those who “became imitators… of the Lord.” To become like the Lord is to love the Lord. Becoming like Him requires immense strength, which we can only receive from Him who is our strength. In becoming like Him, we have no choice but to let this love transform us, pouring that love back toward Him. This is how we love the Lord; it is a love that surpasses all knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).
This process, often called theosis in the East or sanctification in the West, is the path to true love. As we become like Him, our will unites with His. The Spanish mystic St. Theresa of Avila explained, “Love is not great delight but desire to please God in everything.” Love is not a feeling but a choice, a choice that requires strength.
When we read today’s psalm, it’s important to remember what love is — not in the philosophical, academic way, and definitely not in the hand-holding, lovey-dovey way, but in the sense of becoming like Him. All we have to do to work toward this is ask God for help, and He will give us the strength. In doing so, we are able to fully receive love from Him, allowing us to fully confess love for Him. Jesus told St. Theresa in a vision, “I would create the universe again, just to hear you say that you love Me.” Have you told the Lord that you love Him today?
Scarlett Rose Ford is a current Master of Theological Studies candidate at Harvard University. She works as a news correspondent for Harvard Divinity School and is a contributing writer for the Aleteia series The Human Being Fully Alive. Scarlett truly can often be found with a cup of coffee in a library basement, but she can also be found on Linkedin.
Pray with today’s psalm.