As a Catholic, I live by three virtues: faith, hope, and love. Faith in God. Hope in the promises of Jesus. And love as the motive for my actions.
Jesus taught that all three were vital, but love is the most important of all, the summary of God’s law for us.
He shared this belief with the rabbis of Israel. The great Hillel said: “What is distasteful to yourself, do not do to your neighbor; that is the whole law, the rest is commentary.” Jesus said the same thing: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Matt. 7:12). This “golden rule,” to love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev. 19:18), remains the most powerful force we have to bring healing to our broken world and to unite our divided and polarized society.
The golden rule reminds us that we are not isolated individuals, islands unto ourselves. We are a family — sisters and brothers, children of our Father in heaven.
We are our brother’s keeper, and our sister’s too. We have a duty, as brothers and sisters, to take care of one another, to lift up those who fall, to help others bear their burdens. We have a duty to show compassion, and to wish for others the possibilities that we seek for ourselves. When we truly love others as we want to be loved, then we understand that we are all in this together, that not one of us can go it alone. We see that when one of us is hurting, we all hurt. This is the beginning of peace in our hearts, and peace in our world. That is why St. Paul called love “a still more excellent way.” We should live by faith, hope, and love, he said. “But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:13)
The Most Reverend José H. Gomez is the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest Catholic community. lacatholics.org
