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Boundless - There are no limits to love.
Love is an amazing power. When we receive love, we grow and expand within ourselves. The same happens when we love others: when they receive, they open out and flourish. We appreciate mutual love more than any other, whether with a life partner, family members, or close friends. Yet, we are capable of loving others even when there is little or no reciprocation and still find that our hearts enlarge in the process. We have a saying that reflects the reality of such love, “My heart goes out to them.” Compassion is another word for love like this that does not expect or require a return.
If we reflect on even the past 24 hours, most of us will recognize moments of spontaneous compassion when we felt the pain of someone whom we know was affected by one of life’s possible hurts, or when we were saddened at the apparent distress of others whom we might not even know at all. Compassion is a gift that flows from those who know that they are loved. So, we have cause for gratitude when we allow ourselves the inconvenience and suffering that sometimes accompanies our compassion, because only those who are aware of being loved can “overflow” with it to the extent of caring for others who might not respond. When we pray for those who suffer, they will probably never know that we cared for them in this way, but that does not deter us in the least.
The most extraordinary exercise of compassion we receive is from God, who knows our every pain, setback, disappointment, and diminishment from the inside, not as an outside observer. We might be more aware of our small physical sufferings than even some of the more significant internal wounds which we might have tried to cover over with denial or rationalizations, but God takes them all in, compassionately. When we accept this always-present love that fully understands us, we are always better off, just as are all those with whom we are compassionate. Although the pain and suffering may remain, compassion for hurts that are compassionately shared is both welcome and effective, no matter how much or little the sources of distress might remain unchanged.
There is so much suffering among people, whether close to us or only known through what we learn, that we can easily become overwhelmed by our initial sense of powerlessness. This is the occasion for us to rely not on ourselves, but to join our compassionate concern to that of God’s. God is present to each person in the totality of their needs but also bears them in love that extends from this life into the next, and all in the same act of loving compassion.
Our love is truly an amazing power, for it is God’s love acting in and through us.
Last Updated 6/14/2025