Holy Great-Martyr Marina. Blessed Priest-Martyr Pavlo Hoydych. Passing into Eternal Life (1944) of Blessed Tarsykia (Matskiv) of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate, Martyr.
1 Corinthians 13:4-14:5. Matthew 20:1-16.
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-14:5
What a beautiful summation of the Christian life? Love is the ultimate goal that we are oriented towards; in fact, it is the source and summit of our spiritual life. The reason we can say this is because God is love. It is the Lord’s love that changes us, touches us, lifts us, transforms us and is the final goal we are to move towards more and more perfectly. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of Love. If we are not filled with love in this life we will not belong to the Kingdom of Heaven in the next life. That’s why St. Paul says, that love is not only the standard of life, but it is the only thing that endures. Love should be the measure of my life and my daily activities. How can you know if you are on the right path and are making some sort of progress in the spiritual life? If love for God and neighbour has in some way increased in my life; otherwise, I am not making progress or perhaps am moving backwards.
St. Macrina the Younger says, “Love is first among all the activities connected with virtue and all the commandments of the law. If, therefore, the soul ever attains this love, it will need none of the others, having reached the fullness of its being. It seems that love alone preserves in itself the character of the divine blessedness. And knowledge becomes love because what is known is by nature beautiful.” (The Teaching of Macrina on the Soul and the Resurrection).