– The love of God is manifested by his multiple interventions in creation:
Gen 1ff: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Job 38 : Then, out of the bosom of the storm, the Lord gave Job this answer.
– And in the history of Israel:
Deut 4:37 : Because he loved your fathers, and chose their posterity after them.
Deuteronomy 10:15 : Nevertheless, the Lord was attached to your fathers only in love, and chose their posterity.
Jer 31,3 : The Lord appeared to me from afar: “I love you with an everlasting love, and therefore I extend my favor to you”.
– God loves all that he has made and despises nothing that he has created:
Wis 11:24 : Because you love everything that exists, and hate nothing that you have made.
– Out of love God called Abraham:
Gen 12:1-3 : The Lord said to Abram: “Leave your country and your family […] and go to the land that I will show you”.
– He called him his friend:
Gen 18:17 : The Lord then said: “Can I hide from Abraham what I am going to do?”.
Is 41 :8 : But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham, my friend.
– He chose a people for himself from among the peoples:
Ex 3,7-8 : The Lord said: “I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt”.
– Freed him from slavery, accompanied him in his vicissitudes and protected him:
Deut 7,7-8 : It is not because you are more numerous than all other peoples that the Lord has united with you and chosen you.
– Divine love is free and elective:
Deut 7,7 : It is not because you are more numerous than all other peoples.
Jr 12,7ss : I left my family, abandoned my inheritance, and relegated […] what was dearest to my heart.
Ez 16,8 : As I passed by you, I saw that your time, the time of love, had arrived.
– He is merciful towards human infidelities:
Hos 11:14 : I held them with human bonds […] I was to them like one who takes a bridle out of his mouth, and I fed them.
– He is merciful even when he punishes:
Hos 14:19 : Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for it was your sin that caused you to fall.
Pr 3,11s : My son, do not despise the correction of the Lord […] because the Lord chastises those he loves.
– God gives a supreme proof of love, giving his Son to death to save us:
Rom 5:8 : But here is a brilliant proof of God’s love for us: when we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Jn 3:16 : Indeed, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Jn 10:17 : The Father loves me, because I lay down my life to take it up again.
1Jn 4 :7 : Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God.
– Man’s love for God must therefore be a response and constitutes the first and greatest commandment:
Deut 6 :5: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.
Jos 22,5 : Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, keep his.
Mt 22,36ss : Master, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?
Col 3:14 : But above all, put on charity, which is the bond of perfection.
Reasons:
Jn 3,16s : Indeed, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Rom 8:32 : He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.
Gal 2:20 : My present life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Eph 1,5ss : In his love he predestined us to be adopted as his children by Jesus Christ.
Eph 3:19 : That is, to know the love of Christ, which defies all knowledge.
1Jn 4:16 : God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him.
– It manifests itself, above all, in good works:
Lk 7:47 : But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Jn 14:23s : Jesus answered him: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him”.
1Jn 2,5s : But whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God is truly perfect.
1Jn 4,20s : If anyone says: “I love God”, but hates his brother, he is a liar.
1Jn 5 :3 : This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
– And in detachment from the world:
Mt 6:24 : No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other.
Rom 8,7s : Because the desire of the flesh is hostile to God, for the flesh does not submit to the Law of God, nor can it.
Jas 4,4 : Adulterers, do you not know that the love of the world is abhorred by God?
1Jn 2,15ss : Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
– God loves the poor above all:
1Sm 2,8 : Raises the beggar from the dust, removes the indigent from the dung.
Ps 9:10 : The Lord becomes a refuge for the oppressed, a timely defense in times of danger.
Ps 106 :41 : [God] raised the poor from their misery, multiplying families like flocks.
Jas 2,5 : Did not God choose the poor of this world so that they might be […] heirs of the Kingdom promised by God to those who love him?
– God has the love of a father and a husband for his people:
Is 54,5 : For your husband is your Creator: he is called the Lord of hosts.
Jr 2 : I remember your affection when you were young, your betrothal love.
Pr 16 : The unfaithful wife. Oola and Ooliba.
Hos 1–3 : Love […] a woman who was loved […] and […] an adulteress, for that is how the Lord loves the children of Israel.
Hos 11,1-9 : Israel was still a child, and I loved him already, and out of Egypt I called my son.
Am 3,2 : Of all the races of the earth I know only you; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
– And promises you a new heart capable of loving:
Jer 31,3.20.22 : But like a woman who betrays the one who loves her, so you have betrayed me, house of Israel.
Ez 16,60-62 : But I will remember the covenant I made with you in your youth.
Hos 2,21-22 : I will betroth her forever, according to justice and right.
Am 3,2 : Of all the races of the earth I know only you; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
– Love can be carnal, passionate, spiritual:
Gen 2:23 : Behold now – said the man – bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
Gen 3:16 : You will give birth in pain, your desires will drive you to your husband and you will be under his dominion.
Gen 12:10-19 : The Lord, however, struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Rt 3.10 : God bless you, my daughter. This […] goodness is worth more […] because you did not seek young people, poor or rich.
2Sm 3,16 : Who accompanied her weeping to Bahurim. There, Abner said to him: “Go back to your house!”. And he came back.
2Sm 12,15-25 : The Lord wounded the boy that Uriah’s wife had given to David and he fell seriously ill.
2Sm 19,1-2 : Then the king was moved, he went up to the room above the door and wept.
Pr 5 : For the lips of a foreign woman drop honey; her palate is more oily than oil.
Eclo 6,5-17 : A good word multiplies friends and appeases enemies.
Zech 7,9 : The Lord said: judge according to true justice; each of you have a good heart.
– God is love:
1Jn 4,8-16 : He who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
– Loves the beloved Son:
Mt 3:17 : And a voice came down from heaven: “Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.
Mt 12:18 : Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul has set all its affection.
Mt 17,5 : Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; I heard it.
Mk 1:11 : You are my beloved Son; in you I set my affection.
Mk 9,7 : This is my beloved Son; I heard it.
Lc 3,22 : You are my beloved Son; in you I set my affection.
Lc 9,35 : This is my beloved Son; I heard it!
Jn 1:18 : No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed it.
Jn 3:35 : The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to him.
Jn 5:20 : The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and greater works than this will show you.
Jn 10:17 : The Father loves me, because I lay down my life to take it up again.
John 15 :9: As the Father loves me, so I love you. Persevere in my love.
Jn 17,23-26 : So that they may be perfect in unity and the world may know that you sent me and loved them as you loved me.
– Who equally loves him:
Mt 11,25-27 : And when you stand up to pray, forgive, if you have any grudge against someone.
Lk 10:21-22 : At that very hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.
Jn 4:34 : Jesus said to them: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.
Jn 12:27 : Now my soul is troubled. But what shall I say?… Father, save me from this hour…
Jn 14:31 : The world, however, must know that I love the Father and do as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let’s get out of here.
Jn 15:10 : As I also kept my Father’s commandments and persisted in his love.
Jn 17,6.26 : I have revealed your name to them […] so that the love with which you loved me may be in them.
Jn 18:11 : But Jesus said to Peter: “Put your sword back in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
– He loves men, even sinners, to the point of giving them the Son:
Jn 3,16-17 : Indeed, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Jn 14:23 : Jesus answered him: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him.
Jn 17:23 : I in them and you in me, so that […] the world may know that you sent me and loved them as you loved me.
Rom 5:6-7 : Indeed, when we were still weak, Christ died in due time for the ungodly.
Rom 8:32 , 37 : He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.
Eph 2 :4 : But God, who is rich in mercy, moved by the great love with which he loved us.
1Jn 3:1 : Consider with what love the Father loved us, that we should be called children of God.
– Christians are called to love:
Rom 12,9-10 : Love one another with tender and brotherly affection.
– But also to love enemies:
Mt 5:44 : But I say to you, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you.
Mk 12:31 : Here is the second: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” . No other commandment greater than these does not exist.
Lc 6,27.35 : I say to you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
Jn 13:34 : Love one another. As I have loved you, so should you also love one another.
Jo 15,12.17 : This is my commandment: love one another, as I love you.
Rom 13 :8: Do not owe anyone […] for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the whole law.
1Jn 3:10 : Anyone who does not do what is right is not of God, like anyone who does not love his brother.
1Jn 4,20-21 : If anyone says: “I love God”, but hates his brother, he is a liar.
1Jn 5 :3 : This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not grievous.
– Love (or charity) is a fundamental charism:
1Cor 13 : Even if I speak the tongues of men and angels, if I do not have love, I am like the brass that sounds.
– Full compliance with the Law:
Lk 11:42 : Woe to you, Pharisees, who pay tithes […] of different herbs and despise justice and the love of God.
Gal 5:14 : For the whole law is contained in one precept: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
– Bond of all perfection:
Col 3:14 : But above all, put on charity, which is the bond of perfection.
– Love of neighbor is the second greatest commandment:
Mt 7:12 : Whatever you want men to do to you, do to them. This is the Law and the prophets.
Mt 19:19 : Honor your father and mother, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mt 22,39s : The second, similar to this one, is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Jn 13:34s : I give you a new commandment: Love one another. How I have loved you.
Jn 15,12-17 : This is my commandment: love one another, as I love you.
Rom 13,8ss : Do not owe anyone anything, except mutual love.
1Cor 13,1-13 : Even if I speak the tongues of men and angels, if I do not have love, I am like the sounding brass.
– Must be sincere:
Rom 12:9: Let your charity not be faked. Abhor evil, cling solidly to good.
Eph 4,1s : I urge you therefore […] to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you were called.
1Pt 1:22 : In obedience to the truth, you have purified your souls to practice sincere brotherly love.
1Jn 3,18 : My little children, let us not love with words or with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.
– Uninterested:
Mt 7:12 : Whatever you want men to do to you, do to them. This is the Law and the prophets.
Lc 6,31-34 : If you love those who love you, what reward do you deserve? Sinners also love those who love them.
Lc 14,12ss : When you give a supper, do not invite your friends […] nor relatives, nor rich neighbors.
1Cor 10,24 : No one should seek his own interest, but that of his neighbor.
– Universal, extensive to every creature:
Mt 5,46s : If you only love those who love you, what reward will you have?
Gal 5,13s : Do not abuse […] freedom […] for carnal pleasures. […] make yourselves servants of one another.
Gal 6:2 : Help one another to carry your burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.
1Th 5:15 : Before, always seek to do good among yourselves and to all.
1Jn 4,20s : For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen is incapable of loving God whom he has not seen.
– Love to enemies:
Mt 5,44s : I, however, say to you: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
Mt 6,14s : For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Rm 12,14.17.20 : Bless those who persecute you; bless them, and do not curse them.
Eph 4:26 : Even in anger, do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your resentment.
1Pet 3:9: Do not repay evil for evil, nor insult for insult. On the contrary, bless.
1Jn 2,9 : He who claims to be in the light, and hates his brother, still lies in darkness.
1Jn 4,20s : If anyone says: “I love God”, but hates his brother, he is a liar.
– Love for God is shown in the observance of the word of Jesus:
Jo 14,15.21-22 : Jesus answered him: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him.
Jo 15,10-14 : If you keep my commandments, you will be constant in my love.
1Jn 2,3-5 : But whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God is truly perfect.
1Jn 5 :3 : This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
– Loving the brothers:
Mt 5:43 : You have heard that it was said: “You shall love your neighbor” and you may hate your enemy.
Mt 19:19 : Honor your father and mother, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mt 22,34-40 : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.
Mk 12,28-31 : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.
Lc 10,25-28 : You shall love the Lord your God, […] (Dt 6,5); and your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18).
Jn 13:34 : Love one another. As I have loved you, so should you also love one another.
Jo 15,12-17 : Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
– The Greek term agape indicates the eucharistic feast:
Jd 12 : These make scandals in your agapes. They feast with you shamelessly and satisfy themselves.
– Due to the Greek usage of the term, it can indicate a religious meal:
2Pt 2,13 : Perverted and filthy men, they take pleasure in deceiving while they feast with you.
