Gathering Point One

Let us begin our time of prayer and reflection together In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

CARITAS PRAYER: Loving Father, almighty God,You so loved the world that you sent your son Jesusso that we might live through him.Help us to respond to your love.Grant us understanding of the loving ways of Jesus.Teach us to see others with his eyes and, through your Holy Spirit,guide us in our efforts to show love in our daily actions.Living Lord, you are love.Help us, whom you made in your image, to practise lovein loving communion with others.We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen 

In today’s ‘Gathering point’ we are thinking about what LOVE means.

We will look at Scripture and some teachings of Pope Benedict to see how their words help us to understand more about:

Gathering Point One

• what love is • what love does • why, when we are loved, we are moved to love in return.

We will reflect on where we feel God’s love in our lives.

We will begin to consider the reality that, when we love others… we are loving God.

Pope Benedict’s first letter as Pope was called:Deus Caritas Est

(God Is Love)

Read the following extracts from his teachings…

Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction .

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

I wish to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others.

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

Love is no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

God’s love for us is fundamental for our lives, and it raises important questions about who God is and who we are.

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

Love is no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

I wish to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others.

Starter Questions...

Think about the following questions, discuss them with those around you and note down some answers:

•What love does God lavish on you?

•Do you feel a responsibility to share that love with others?

•Can you “command” someone to love?

•What does the Pope mean when he says that through love “God draws near to us”?

“Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction .”

“God’s love for us is fundamental for our lives, and it raises important questions about who God is and who we are.”

Pope Benedict XVIDeus Caritas Est

Questions continued

•Do you think about your faith as an “encounter” with a person?

•How does your faith give your life direction at the moment?

•In what way could it give you direction?

•What does the Pope mean when he says God’s love raises questions about who God is and who we are?

•How can God’s love help you to discover who you are?

Let us listen to the words of scripture.

A reading from the First Letter of John (4:11-12,16, 19-21)

My dear people since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another.

No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.

God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God

and God lives in him.

We are to love, then, because he loved us first.

Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen.

So this is the commandment that he has given us, that

anyone who loves God must also love his brother.

The Word of the Lord

All: Thanks be to God

We will now have a time of prayer and reflection as we think about and respond to the Scripture

passages we have just heard.

When the rain is blowing in your face,

Do you sometimes feel that life is like struggling to walk in a storm?

Does it feel like there is a lot of pressure on you?

Do you ever turn to God when things are getting on top of you?

“For God so loved the

world, that he gave his only Son.”

John 3:16

Do you feel the love of God in your life?

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;

nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Mt 26:39

Do you ever say to God “Thy will be done”?

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a

loud voice, saying, “My God,

my God, why have you

forsaken me?” Mt 27: 46

Or do you sometimes wonder where God is in your life?

“God is Love.”He is present in the people who love you, who hold you,

who care for you.

“anyone who lives in love lives in God and God lives in him”

Maybe the question should be... Do you help others to feel the love of God?

Do your words, thoughts and actions help

people to see God in today’s world and to

know that God is love?

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

Jer 1: 5

No doubt in my mind where you belong.

I'd go hungry

Jesus spent 40 days in the desert preparing to share God’s love with others.

I'd go black and blue

He was threatened, bullied and tortured.

I'd go crawling down the avenue.

He was humiliated and exhausted

No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do

Yet, he went through all of this to show God’s unconditional love for us.

There’s nothing I wouldn’t do…To make you feel my love.

You have started a journey to learn, reflect and witness to God’s love in your

home, school and parish.

At the end of this year, don’t regret not having taken all of the

opportunities you could have.

Show the world that while suffering is all around that there is a way to bring

happiness and joy to others.

You ain't seen nothing like me yet.

That Love – Caritas – is indeed an extraordinary force

And that young people are a sign of great HOPE.

What will you do in this “Caritas” year to find yourself and serve others?

How far will you go...

To help others to feel God’s Love?

So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.

Who is your brother?How can you love him / her?What effect do you think your love could have on them?

Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. What challenges might we face

when trying to love our brother?

Could it be difficult? Why?

No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.”

By loving our neighbour we are loving God.

Does that make you want to treat people differently?

We are to love, then, because he loved us first.Love is no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.

How can you respond to God’s love for you?

How can you show God’s love in your local community?

Prayers of Intercession: