When I was a child, I used to tell my Mom that when I grew up, I was going to take her for a vacation on the Love Boat. Thinking back, some of my earliest memories of church, we would meet my grandparents at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez for the Saturday Vigil Mass. Afterwards, we would go have a family dinner together at the Prentiss Restaurant. We would get home and watch the television show, The Love Boat.
I can try to finally honor my childhood invitation to her many years ago and honor my Mother on this Mother’s Day by offering her this humble post, “The Love Book.”
If God took every word in the Bible and compressed it into just one word, I believe that word would spell out L-O-V-E. We all need love, both love from God and love from each other. This website was built for the love of God, the Holy Family, and the angels.
The love of Christ arouses us, urges to run, and to fly, lifted on the wings of holy zeal.” – St. Anthony Mary Claret
I have been inspired to add a new category to Catholic Ace, Love. Starting with this post, this category of Catholic Ace will be dedicated to what Sacred Scripture has to say about love. There are over 300 occurrences of the word love in the New Testament.
There are two levels of love mentioned in the New Testament (Greek words).
- Agapao (verb) Agape (noun) – willing or committed love.
- Phileo – friendly love (can also sometimes mean willing love).
I read over most all of the “love verses” in the New Testament, several hundreds of them. Towards completion, I noticed it was like I could sense a spiritual grace flowing into my spirit from the sacred words and verses, and that was just from an initial review of what the scripture verses said. I selected the verses that I believe were most relevant for this category, and I classed them into different types listed below.
- God speaks love
- God loves us
- Jesus speaks love
- Jesus loves us
- Holy Spirit loves us
- Love
- Human love
- Family love
- Exhortations to love
- Love one another
This post will focus on Jesus. Love starts with Him and goes through Him to the Father.
Because of the infinite love Jesus has for us and the number of scripture verses, this post will just focus on some of the verses themselves for a heartfelt reflection on love.
Jesus Speaks Love
Gospel of St. Matthew
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? Matthew 5:46
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; Matthew 10:37
honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 19:19
He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39
Gospel of St. Mark
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31
And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:33
Gospel of St. Luke
“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Luke 6:27
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Luke 6:35
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” Luke 7:47
He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
Gospel of St. John
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. John 3:35
For the Father loves his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. John 5:20
This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. John 10:17
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. John 12:25
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. John 13:34
This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15
Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” John 14:21
Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. John 14:23
You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. John 14:28
but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go. John 14:31
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. John15:9
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. John 15:10
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. John 15:12
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
This I command you: love one another. John 15:17
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. John 16:27
I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. John 17:23
Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. John 17:24
I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” John 17:26
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” John 21:15
He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” John 21:16
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep. John 21:17
Jesus Loves Us
Gospel of St. Mark
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21
New Testament Letters
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? Romans 8:35
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. Romans 8:37
yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. Galatians 2:20
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19
Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:14
You loved justice and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions”; Hebrews 1:9
Catholic Letters
The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I love you.
Shane