Contemplative in the Mud

How is it that Love Equalizes Lovers?

1–2 minutes

Benjamin Embley

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4 comments on How is it that Love Equalizes Lovers?

Francis, John

Throughout the works of those two great saints of love who are John of the Cross and Francis de Sales, we come across assertions that the act of loving makes the lover on the same plane as the beloved, that the object of our love, whether higher or lower than us, describes where the value of our own love falls; or, in the words of Saint Francis,

Love equalizes lovers.

How is that?

In general, it is true. Wherever our heart is, there is out treasure also! (Mt 6:21) If we set our heart on riches, it is riches to which our superior nature bows down to become equal; if we set out heart on lust, power, or anything else, down we go in like manner.

But when our love, centred more and more on God in himself and in his general and particular will, approaches closer and closer to God in himself, grasped through faith as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, far surpassing our natural knowledge: then we become “participants in the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4). Of course, we remain human. But in our love our object is as great as God himself. Love equalizes lovers. This is a great hope of the Gospel.

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Benjamin Embley

With backgrounds in engineering (BSc PhD) and philosophy (MA), Ben has lived and worked in England, France, and Thailand and is now back home as a settler in the unceded traditional territory of the Wabanaki peoples in Canada. He is a Laudato Si’ Animator and currently studying an MTS Peace & Justice in Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

4 responses to “How is it that Love Equalizes Lovers?”

  1. sandyfaithking Avatar
    sandyfaithking

    Reblogged this on multicolouredsmartypants and commented:
    How wonderful! Reminds me of Julian of Norwich too. I love how God reveals himself in similar ways to people hundreds of miles and centuries apart. I don’t know much about Francis de Sales. I will have to see what I can find.

    Reply
    1. Ben (เบ็น) Avatar
      Ben (เบ็น)

      Francis de Sales lived in the French-speaking world of the 16th and 17th centuries and is probably best known for his ‘Introduction to the Devout Life,’ a devotional book/plan of life for laypeople living in the hustle and bustle of the world, but called to a deep prayer life and an active way of living Christianity (e.g., in a family, in business, in a profession, in society).

      I think it’s a wonderful book (as are many others of his). And for what it’s worth, when it was released, this book was revered by Catholics and Protestants alike (though Protestant editions in England did modify some parts and sometimes omitted the author’s name). That’s saying something for the early 1600s! =)

      Reply
      1. sandyfaithking Avatar
        sandyfaithking

        It certainly is! Thank you. That’s definitely going on my ‘to read’ list.

        Reply
        1. Ben (เบ็น) Avatar
          Ben (เบ็น)

          =)

          There must be many versions available online, probably free.

          Reply

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