Feast of Pope Saint Leo IX

Good morning. The problem with relationships is that one might get hurt. In fact in all likeliness you will. Being in a loving relationship one is almost guaranteed to get hurt. With any relationship there comes trust, the degree of trust of course is contingent upon the significance of the relationship. And trust is one of those things we don’t give a whole lot of thought to unless we need to share a secret, loan some money, or the trust is broken. Another thing about trust is that it builds up over time without much notice, but can disappear in an instance. Too, it may erode over time due to repeated betrayals. But once it’s gone it takes a long time, if ever, to rebuild. 

We read in the Gospel today about trust. Unlike our relationship with God we can’t always trust everyone. In fact one thing is certainly clear if we are to have any type of relationships we without a doubt leave ourselves vulnerable to being hurt, and as a result we often tend to look upon vulnerability in our lives as something to be avoided. Regarding vulnerability, C. S. Lewis in  The Four Loves   notes “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, --safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable . . . . The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers. . . .of love. . .is Hell.” As summed up by C. S. Lewis we hardly have much choice, if we are to have any life at all, but to choose to be vulnerable. 

We more often than not tend to view vulnerability as being something negative, yet in looking to God’s presence in our lives there are certainly some positive aspects to it. In fact Pope Benedict urges us to look upon vulnerability as something positive in our lives. He noted that our “Creator assumed the dimensions of a child in Jesus, of a human being like us, to make himself visible and tangible. At the same time, by making himself small, God caused the light of his greatness to shine. For precisely by lowering himself to the point of defenseless vulnerability of love, he shows what his true greatness is indeed, what it means to be God.” We see witnessed in this act by our Creator what it means to love and we are called to love in this same way. Truth be known, we cannot know true love without allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. To love is to be vulnerable. To be vulnerable, we have to be willing to love with our whole hearts, knowing there is no guarantee, but believe that it is well worth the risk. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Pope Saint Leo IX.