No one lately has expressed the essence of love in the consecrated life  better than Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa in his recent Lenten article,  East and West Before the Mystery of Christ, March 13, 2015:

“True and whole-hearted love is a pearl enclosed between the two shells of eros and agape. We cannot separate these two dimensions of love without destroying it. This is how the love of God for us is revealed in the Bible. It is not only forgiveness, mercy and gift of himself; it is also passion, desire, and jealousy. It is not only a paternal and maternal love but also a spousal love. He desires us; it almost seems that he cannot live without us. This is how Christ wants the love of his consecrated souls for him to be.

The beauty and the fullness of consecrated life depend on the quality of our love for Christ. Only that love is capable of defending us from the wanderings of the heart. Jesus is the perfect man; in him are found, to a vastly superior degree, all the qualities and attention that a man looks for in a woman or that a woman looks for in a man. The vow of chastity does not consist in a renunciation of marriage but in a preference for a different kind of wedding, in marrying “the most beautiful among the sons of men.” St. John Climacus writes, “The chaste man is someone who has driven out eros with Eros— that is, love for a man or a woman with love for Christ.”

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Contemplate these phrases and we will discuss them in the chat room after Easter:

He desires us; it almost seems that he cannot live without us. This is how Christ wants the love of his consecrated souls for him to be.

The beauty and the fullness of consecrated life depend on the quality of our love for Christ. Only that love is capable of defending us from the wanderings of the heart

St. John Climacus writes, “The chaste man is someone who has driven out eros with Eros”— that is, love for a man or a woman with love for Christ.”