Love and Courage

Due to traveling and illness, I haven’t been able to post for over a week, causing me to be unable comment at all during Holy Week, though I had a lot of thoughts and emotions relating to Holy Week. I haven’t been able to read much either, or follow events other than those in my personal life.

What was important this past week was the marriage of my brother and his long time girlfriend, which caused the traveling. During my brother’s speech after the ceremony, he commented he and his bride had just thought of going to the justice of the peace and city hall, only doing the things necessary to legalize the marriage. He said he told one of his close friends of the upcoming marriage, and the friend asked when the ceremony was, he wanted to come. Then another friend asked the same thing, and my brother realized that marriage isn’t just about the two being married, but it’s also about everyone that knows the couple.

Kevin Cronin, lead singer of REO Speedwagon, went up during the toast to the couple, and said he was moved during the ceremony, the vows, because these were two people that had years of life experience (both are in their 50’s), and were fully aware of the importance of this event and marriage; unlike young people full of idealism and dreams that may have an unrealistic view of what marriage entails, which is okay but shortsighted. That got me to thinking these past days of what mature love is.

We have the romantic of course, which set these thoughts in motion, of Altruistic, Eros and Agape love, of all the levels of intensity of these with all the layers of love. Doing some catching up reading this morning, I came across this idea of love as being courageous.

Fr. Scott Hurd, writing about the Resurrection, about Mary Magdalene’s love for Jesus, said she so missed her beloved, Jesus, she was the first to visit His tomb, and the first to see Him resurrected. The disciples had closed up in fear, discouragement and doubt; Mary searched out her beloved, and was rewarded. Her reaching out took courage. Love takes courage.

Fr Hurd writes:

“• We need courage to trust God, when we can’t see the road ahead of us;
 • We need courage to confess our sins when our shame would hold us back;
 • We need courage to witness to our faith in the face of injustice and ridicule;
 • We need courage to love others when we risk being rejected by them;
 • We need courage to forgive, when we’re afraid of appearing weak;
 • And we need courage to grow in holiness, when we fear the change that growth requires.   

 Mary Magdalene serves to remind us that perfect love casts out fear, because we love a Lord whose love for us conquered not only fear, but even death itself."

 I think this applies to our personal relationships too; our romantic relationships, family and friends. Love takes courage. We need to trust each other that we love, we need to be open to those we love, we need to be a witness to the power of love, we need to offer love even when there’s the possibility of rejection, we need to be forgiving in love, and we need to grow in love.

What my brother, Kevin, and Fr. Hurd had to say is so important, that love for one another isn’t limited to the lovers or people that love each other, love should be mature and meaningful, and that it takes courage.