LOVE ACTUALLY

Hadewijch, the Thirteenth century mystic and one of the best known of the Beguine movement – the first Christian women’s movement centered in living love both mystically and apostolically – said that “One must live love.” Sr. Greta Ronningen, whose master’s thesis was on the Beguines and who now leads women’s retreats on Beguine Spirituality, would say that living love is not conceptual or theoretical, but that we must roll up our shirt sleeves and get moving. We must immerse ourselves in kinship with others to experience what I would call the holy exchange of gifts.

     We need to see each other, touch each other, and help each other in real ways, like the woman standing in the lunch line at the parish; like the Beguines who lived among the lepers; like one recovery addict/alcoholic helping another; like the giving and receiving of acts of kindness between our friends who are locked up. Opportunities to share the abundance of God’s love with each other are plentiful.

                                                                         Brother Dennis

                                                                         The Gospel Life