So I got a trackback from a poster (Radial) who couldn’t understand how someone could overemphasize love.

So here’s another way to think of it. You go to your priest with your espoused, and say, “I want to get married.” He says, “Do you love each other?” We say, “Yes, we do.” He says, “Fantastic! You must have love! Without love, your relationship will collapse. Before all else, love each other. Keep this love as your focus, and you will remain happy throughout your days, and endure to the end.”

But what if no one teaches you cleaning or housekeeping skills? Or budgeting? Or fidelity and loyalty? Or patience and kindness? What if the only thing they said you needed for a healthy relationship with your spouce was love, but you knew that there were so many more levels to a truly deep relationship? Would that guarantee failure? Yes, it takes love to be able to clean up after a sick child, or a working spouse. It also takes love to have patience with a spouse who might not be doing things exactly as you would hope. But love is the foundation, but the phrase “All you need is love” is quite misleading. Love is needed, most definitely, but other things are needed as well. There is so much more to a happy relationship other than love that can enhance and deepen the relationship, making it more satisfying for all parties involved.

I desire to know more than love. I get the Love concept. I’m not saying that it can be overemphasized, but I’m just saying that there are so many other aspects of the gospel that also help to strenthen our relationship with God other than simply Love. I’m also not saying I don’t need to learn about it. But I need to learn about in ways that will help me make tangible changes in my life.

For example, the homily at the TLM I went to on Sunday was about patience. It talked about how lack of patience can turn into the sin of pride. By working on having patience, we realize that we are not God and that things will come to fruition when God is ready for them to come to pass. But this is tied into Love, because we must love God and desire not to sin. This doesn’t mean that Patience is more imporant than Love. But learning about Patience and the importance of patience as a virtue will help me make tangible changes in my life that will bring me closer to God in many ways.

THAT’S what I mean by “Teach me more than God Is Love”.