FEATURE
‘The second most important love story is that between Our Lord and His mother…’
The Greatest Love Stories Dr Stuart Blackie KCHS
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he title of this article is loosely derived from a Hollywood film. Hollywood epics usually involve a crisis precipitated by a mixture of love, betrayal, money, ambition, power and pressure (both subtle and violent) in various combinations and permutations. In former times the “good guys” usually came out on top in the end but more recently this has not always been the case. Recently I was privileged to attend a talk by Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, an expert on Muslim-Christian relations. At his retirement in 2012 he was the Papal Nuncio to Egypt and a delegate to the Arab League. He headed the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue from 2002 to 2006. Among the questions asked afterwards was “Could a Muslim say the Our Father?” His reply was interesting in that he said they could say the whole prayer – with the exception of
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“Our Father”. To the Islamic mind, it is inconceivable that Allah, with his 99 attributes, including Creator of the Universe, could lower – even debase Himself to become man. Humility From a purely human perspective, this is understandable. So is it not truly amazing that that is exactly what He did! Could there be a greater demonstration of humility than that practised by God Himself? And He has provided evidence to back up His claim. This is one area where Islamic and Christian beliefs diverge. The love of the Christian God is so great and the magnitude of His inventiveness and His generosity is such that it beggars belief. For instance, when tempted in the desert, it was suggested that He change stones into bread. Immediately practical – but how mundane! As we know, He did not succumb to this - but
who could have predicted that later He would turn mere bread into His body! Love does not exist in isolation. God is not alone in His heaven. Surely the greatest love story that can exist is that between God the Father and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Though a full explanation of the concept of the Trinity is beyond human comprehension, one theory maintains that Their bond of mutual love is so strong, that the magnitude of its intensity so great, that it begets the Holy Spirit. The infinite The second most important love story is that between Our Lord and His mother. She is the only person in history to have perfectly fulfilled the will of God in her life and served only to magnify the Infinite. She personally exemplified the dignity of humankind and demonstrated the pattern of
WINTER 2018
