Cultivating “the Greatest of These” Virtues: Love
“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Editor’s note: This Lent, the Catholic Women in Business team is exploring the theme “Cultivating Virtue in the Desert.” Learn more here.
Have you ever asked God a question and received an unexpected answer? Recently, I asked God, “What is my ministry? What have you called me to do?”
After some time, I heard, “Your ministry is love.” Confused by his response, I shared it with a priest, who helped me put it into context. He compared this mission—“to love”—to a car with different parts. All of the parts of the car are important to its function, and when one puts all the parts together, they create the fullness of the car. In other words, love is everything. It is not just a part of something, but it is everything.
This explanation made sense to me; after all, God commanded us to love him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). One sermon I recently heard said that if we observed this commandment, the heartache of this world and hell would not exist, as we would always do what is right by God and our neighbors.
Based on my conversation with the priest, I knew I needed to work on the virtue of love. To cultivate this virtue, I have decided to pray for grace and to intentionally love people who have gotten under my skin. Sometimes, the people who are the closest to us are the hardest for us to love, for we cannot escape their mannerisms. But true love requires continuous effort and daily dying to self in order to grow, mature, and take root within us.
This training for the virtue of love must begin at home and in our work environment. We can cultivate this virtue by praying to God for help in resisting gossip, hypocrisy, impatience, judgment, slandering, self-centeredness, pride, unkindness, and unforgiveness. Through prayers and fasting, we can love as Christ has taught us.
The Umbrella of Love
"So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). To cultivate other virtues, we must love well. The umbrella of love encompasses all other virtues. For example:
Love brings forth compassion. Without love, we cannot see the needs of others. Love enables us to genuinely care for the well-being of others.
Love brings forth forgiveness. One who loves keeps no record of wrongdoing (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Love brings forth fortitude and courage. Without love, we cannot resist temptation or do good amid daily obstacles.
Love brings forth generosity. Without love, we cannot entirely give the best of ourselves.
Love brings forth humility and obedience. Our Lord humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death (Philippians 2:7-8). Love was the essence of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
Love brings forth patience. Without love, we cannot tolerate others’ shortcomings or defects. Jesus is patient with us, because he deeply loves us.
Love brings forth service. Without love, we cannot heartily serve one another.
Unconditional Love
To love unconditionally is a gift, not only to the people around us but to ourselves as well. It helps us not to expect something in return when we do good. It also prevents us from being disappointed in people who have not “kept their end of the bargain.”
Scripture tells us to give and we will receive (Luke 6:38). The more we love, the more we will freely accept and share it. When we love, we are not afraid of receiving it, thinking that others have ulterior motives. Instead, we see this given love with the eyes of Jesus. It becomes the essence of our lives, for “perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).
Unconditional love also helps us love ourselves despite our flaws and shortcomings. In loving ourselves, we look for the beauty within us and do not envy others. We appreciate our gifts—big or small—and claim our identity as children of God in every walk of life.
Love is the foundation of our lives and who we are. It is worth cultivating the virtue of love, but we are weak and need God’s grace and mercy. Therefore, let us fervently pray for this much-needed virtue in us and the world.
Pray with me:
Father God, teach me to cultivate all other virtues through pure love for you and my neighbors. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Rhode L. Jean-Aleger was born and raised in Haiti. She has been married to Vorbes, her college sweetheart, for the past twenty-eight years. She is the mother of three young adult children. She received a BS in nursing in 1993 from City College of New York, a MS in Community Health Nursing as well as a MS in Public Health in 2001 from Hunter College, and Post-Master as a Nurse Practitioner in 2009 from New York University. A Certified Spiritual Director, she graduated from Our Lady of Divine Providence, an affiliate of Franciscan University. She is involved in the Homeless and Homebound ministry in her parish and is a retreat leader for the Haitian Community. Rhode founded the Jax Prayer Club in 2013, a community of faithful Christians striving to support and encourage each other in their walk with God. She writes daily reflections intended to make prayer and the word of God alive in others’ hearts. Learn more about the Prayer Club by visiting her website: www.Jaxprayerclub.com.