The Lord prompted him, asking, “What is written in the law?” The lawyer then quoted, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” The Lord affirmed, “Thou hast answered rightly; do this, and thou shalt live.” Here, the Lord validated his response, making it clear that there is no alternate path to eternal life and salvation: loving God and loving one's neighbor encompass all. What a succinct catechism! How simple is this divine law—just two commands: love God, love your neighbor. In essence, it is one command: love. For those who truly love God also love their neighbor in God, and vice versa.
Why, then, this complex array of deeds for both God and humanity? Why are there covenants, decrees, consecrations, sacraments, and an extensive system of teachings? Why these restricted gates and narrow roads? Why must those who "enter through the narrow gate" (Matthew 7:13) undertake "the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:13), embracing fasting, prayers, and vigil? The answer is to lead us toward love. Love is the bloom and harvest of our spiritual life aimed at salvation. Considerable effort is required to produce this fruit. Just as a tree's fruit is preceded by a flower, which comes from leaves and branches, and all of these emerge from a trunk and roots seeded in the ground, so it is with our spiritual journey. First, the seed of the saving message must be sown in the heart, cultivating a tree of righteous deeds. This tree, in turn, bears love as its fruit, which draws from a synthesis of salvific actions and imbues every aspect with its essence.
In its truest form, love represents a spiritual paradise—a warm, serene, generous, vibrant, and joyful state of being. It is not a fleeting visitor in our soul, but a deep-rooted disposition, as essential as breathing or heartbeat. Those who embody this love experience profound and unshakable bliss. Their labor, sorrows, or struggles become inconsequential, as the very challenges on the road to love do not extinguish but elevate the flame of love, likened to wind that enhances a fire. Thus, love embodies paradise, yet paradise is often elusive. When one seeks within, it seems absent. Why is this? Because the heart is overrun with corrupt desires that suffocate love. Where passion prevails, love cannot thrive. “Love is merciful”; can there be love in a heart indifferent to the suffering of others? “Love does not envy”; how can it exist in a heart filled with envy? “Love is neither boastful nor prideful”; what place does love have where pride rules? “Love seeks not its own advantage”; how can love dwell in a heart dominated by self-interest? “Love is not disruptive”; can it flourish in a heart consumed by dishonor? “Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing”; how can it exist in a heart steeped in anger or malice? “Love covers all things”; how then can it thrive in a heart prone to gossip?
These harmful passions must first be removed to allow the flourishing of a single, multi-branched tree bearing the blossoms and fruits of love (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Initiate this process by uprooting the passions, and you will unavoidably embark on a challenging journey filled with the necessity of assuming all “the armor” of spiritual endeavors, undergoing the sanctifying, instructive laws of God's holy Church. In essence, before you can embrace the unity of love, you must endure many burdens and strive through numerous endeavors, akin to traversing a forest to reach a delightful meadow filled with blossoms.
St. Isaac the Syrian noted that love is a paradise of sweetness. To arrive at this paradise, one must navigate the tumultuous sea of passions. Therefore, he advises taking the boat of repentance, steering with the fear of God, unfurling the sails of sorrow and contrition, and employing acts of self-denial instead of rowers, while overseeing the entirety of this task with diligence. Engage in this labor, and soon you will reach the longed-for shore and step into the blissful realm of love.
Thus, it becomes evident that one arrives at love through the battle against passions, which begins with repentance borne of the fear of God, arising from sincere belief. This path to love remains steadfast and immutable! Reignite your faith in God, for those who seek Him shall find support. Such faith rekindles the fear of God. Fear awakens the conscience, fostering repentance, which leads to a commitment to refrain from sin and resist destructive passions, walking persistently along the path of righteousness. This effort will cleanse the heart, rendering it pure and suitable for love.
Once this purity is achieved, nothing more will be necessary. You will lack for nothing, for you will possess God and be held by His grace. “He that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him” (1 John 4:16). Where God dwells, everything the soul desires or hopes for is found. It is akin to constructing a building; initially cluttered with scaffolding, once complete, the supports are removed and the structure reveals its elegance. Likewise, in the spiritual journey, when love is realized, all prior necessities fade away.
Only love will prevail, generating, nourishing, and fulfilling everything. However, be mindful that the journey to ultimate love is neither quick nor simple. Thus, resist the whims of youthful champions of love who advocate for abandoning all but love. Be patient and traverse the path lined with the disciplines of pious living provided by the holy Church, progressing from the minor to the major. Through this, you will attain true love.
True love will instruct you on how to regard the elements that naive and unseasoned benevolence dismisses as unimportant. Often, if our resolve were strong enough to profess, “From this moment, I will love God and my neighbors,” genuine love would reign in our hearts—it would be beneficial. However, reality frequently defies this notion. When thoughts and words declare love, the heart tends to rebel, often rejecting loving actions, even amidst fervor for charitable ideas. Why does this occur? The heart, hardened by selfishness, pride, desires, and self-interest, cannot be swayed by mere eloquence alone. This is why the Apostle, in discussing love, instructs us to “pursue love” (1 Tim. 6:11), emphasizing the need for diligent effort to attain it, and to “put on love” (Col. 3:14)—to labor earnestly to acquire it, praying for God to instill within us a spirit of love (2 Tim. 1:7). “For whatever is of God is of God” (1 John 4:7), poured into “our hearts by the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 5:5). This divine gift requires both pursuit and cultivation, which cannot be accomplished through words alone.
Let us, beloved brethren, endure patiently the directives of the Holy Church and our faith. May we steadily undertake the struggles prescribed for the purification of the heart, aiming for the love that is so essential, praying fervently that “the Lord may grant us, by the power of His Spirit, to be established in the inner man, to implant Christ by faith in our hearts, that, rooted and grounded in love, we may comprehend with all the saints the breadth, and the length, and the depth, and the height, and know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:15-19). Amen.
THEOSIS