Homily | 6 September - The Law of Love

The gospel of today Saturday invites us to remember the theme proposed by Vatican II Council to the religious in is decree Perfectae Caritatis, a broad and profound reflection on consecrated life: renovatio et accommodatio. These two themes of renewal and accommodation bring us closer to what Jesus said to the Pharisees: "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Lk 6:5). St. Mark presents it in a clearer way: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27). This teaching of Jesus to the Pharisees is a call for them to open their spirit to renewal and accommodation. This proposal aligns well with the great commandment to love God and our neighbour. The law of love is the measure of lives of we Christians, and even more for we, the religious. Jesus is the one who gives reason to this law of love that must be embodied in our lives. If this foundation is removed from the lives of the baptized or those who wish to live out their baptismal commitment radically, their baptism commitment would remain empty resulting into faith without its fundamental content.

This void will be filled by a law that lacks the divine foundation of love. Without love, there is no mercy. When there is no mercy, the law turns into physical and spiritual pain. This is what we see in Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees. In the name of the law, we do not love our neighbour and, consequently, we cannot say that we love God.

We must recognise that the proper renewal of religious life involves, at the same time, a return to the sources of all Christian life, to the original inspiration of the institutes, and to the adaptation of these to the changing conditions of each era. (Cf. PC 2) All of us must know and admit that the definitive norm of religious life is the following of Christ, discipleship. Sometimes we neither speak much about the topic of discipleship nor attempt examining the fidelity to our charism, creatively. This creative fidelity helps us to live our religious commitment adequately and participate in the life of the church in a healthy manner, and thus bearing fruits in the process of building the Kingdom of God in today's world, in the creation of a better world for all.

Creative fidelity will promote among us a deeper and appropriate understanding of the reality of the world and humanity. If we can analyse the circumstances of our reality "in the light of faith and inflamed with apostolic zeal, we will be able to help men and ourselves more effectively because "charity begins at home".
As religious, following of Christ is the purpose of our vocation, which we make concrete through the vows, communal life and apostolate. Therefore, it must be seriously considered that the best adaptations to the needs of our time will not be effective unless they are animated by a spiritual renewal (Cf. PC 2) enabling us to put each case in its proper place.

A General Chapter such as the one we are celebrating these days, is an opportunity to examine and see whether we share the same way of thinking and acting as the Pharisees, who only focus on the law and overlook love and mercy. Renewal may induce. Fear of losing what one has, fear of not achieving what he plans, fear of remaining empty. It is a fear that reveals how fragile and small our faith is, the little hope that exists in our hearts, the conditional love we show to others. If we place the law as the only way to fulfil God’s will, it will hinder all forms of renewal and adaptation: the Pharisees adhere to what their religion dictates and feel secure in doing so; they do not question or consider anything beyond that. They close themselves off. Jesus tells them this phrase so that they can discover the error that dominates them. The Pharisees do not want mercy; they want the law to be fulfilled, whatever that may be, whether it grants life or not to human beings. If allowed, we can say that Jesus requires them a change of paradigm.

The law and by itself, without mercy, can cause many injustices. When Saint Augustine said, “Love and do what you will”, he is in the same perspective as Jesus. A person who loves will never harm others and does not need laws to tell them what is right or wrong. They know this because love is their law, their commandment.

We can ask ourselves whether we Augustinians, find ourselves in this dynamic of love and mercy that opens our minds, hearts and apostolates to renewal and adaptation, or we are blocked by the law and traditions that constrains us. Saint Augustine, at the end of the Rule, concludes with the prayer: “May the Lord grant you to fulfil all this out of love, as truly in love with spiritual beauty, and exhaling a good perfume of Christ through exemplary living, not as slaves under the law but as free persons under the rule of grace” (Rule Book VIII).
Amen