Lent 2026 - Reading #47 - Love (Charity)
Reading
Thomas Aquinas meditates on the love revealed at the cross: "Christ's passion was a sacrifice most acceptable to God, because it proceeded from charity. It was offered by one who was both God and man, and therefore of infinite value. The passion of Christ was not merely sufficient but superabundant for the atonement of the sins of all mankind. As Saint John says: 'He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.'" Aquinas further reflects: "It was fitting that Christ should suffer. First, in order to show forth the immensity of his love. As it is written: 'God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' Second, in order to set us an example of virtue: patience, humility, obedience, and above all, charity. Third, so that through the cross we might know the gravity of sin and the cost of its healing." For Aquinas, the cross is not merely a historical event but the supreme revelation of the nature of God. The God who is love is not an abstraction; love is demonstrated, enacted, and proven in the willing sacrifice of the cross. Every other expression of love, human kindness, parental devotion, friendship, mercy, is a participation in this original, foundational act of self-giving.
Reflection
Good Friday. The journey ends here, at the foot of the cross. Forty-nine days since the ashes were placed on our foreheads, and everything has been leading to this moment: the moment when love is stretched to its absolute limit and does not break. All the virtues we have cultivated find their supreme exemplar on the cross. The prudence of Jesus, who saw clearly what awaited him and chose it freely. The justice of God, who did not dismiss the gravity of sin but bore its full weight. The fortitude of Christ, who endured the agony of crucifixion without flinching from his mission. The temperance of the one who could have called down legions of angels but restrained his power for the sake of love. The faith of the Son who cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and yet did not abandon his trust. The hope that looked beyond the grave to resurrection morning. And love, love that holds it all together. Love that forgives the executioners. Love that promises paradise to the thief. Love that entrusts its mother to the beloved disciple. Love that endures the ultimate abandonment without becoming bitter, without retaliating, without giving up on the human race it came to save. This is the love that our Lenten journey has been preparing us to receive and, in our small, imperfect way, to give. Good Friday is not the end of the story. But it is the heart of it. Stay here today. Do not rush to Easter. Let the cross do its work in you. Tomorrow, in the silence of Holy Saturday, we will wait, as love waits, patient and kind, bearing all things, hoping all things.