Yes, I'm still in the introduction of this book. But it's funny... I really want to read St. John of the Cross now. Apparently, JP2 was greatly inspired by him and his ideas in relation to love and faith.
They talk about this love cycle, which is the mutual giving and mutual receiving of love. If one is only taking, and one is only giving, it's not love. That's use, and works directly against the dignity of a human being.
Then there's parts of what's called the "Sanjuanist Triangle" which I will list briefly:
1. Love and the gift of self: To receive love, you need to give it. This reminds me most of what Jesus said: there is no greater love than this: laying down one's life for a friend (NOT a direct quote).
2. The paradigmatic role of love between man and woman: when you think about it, there's a lot of comparison to Jesus as the bridegroom in the gospels (either directly or through parables). If I understand this concept correctly, this point is referring to how the sexual union of a man and a woman reflects how love is supposed to be. If you don't know why... as either your mom or your biology/health teacher.
3. Trinitarian Root of the Gift: In respect of the "mutual total giving", the trinity shows this love. The Father gives all to the Son, the Son gives all to the Father, and we get the Holy Spirit.
The next section in the book is about JP2 and Kant, which I'm personally excited about. We learned about Kant in my History of Psychology class... so I think it'll be interesting to see the differences.
On a side note, guess what we talked about today in my New Testament Class? Yeah, the mutual giving and mutual receiving of love and about how femininity and masculinity complement each other. Think God's trying to give me some encouragement here! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment