Passions Or True Love? Series

Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Course 2024

We worship today in the still strong light of Pentecost, and we are reminded by St. James “do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, ‘[God] yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us’"? Now the jealousy of God applies to the divine nature one of the weaknesses of human nature. So it’s a misnomer, because there is neither fault nor weakness in God. What that means is that God desires more than our conversion and repentance. Once we have been given freely of the Holy Spirit, and therefore have His gifts ready to work in us, if we lose our grip and fall into sin, or misuse or ignore those gifts, then we seriously disappoint our divine Father, AND Jesus, Son of God. Not just the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Blessed Trinity is one.

James warns his readers to be careful of what they ask God to do. He says “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” What are our passions? The great spiritual masters write frequently on our passions. St. Paul calls the operation of our passions against our good “the flesh.” In Gk it sounds really ugly: sarx. We may enjoy a good meal, but if we overeat and make ourselves sick, that’s clearly not good, either physically or spiritually. Acting out that passion is sinful. Sexual activity is pleasurable, but either before or outside of a marriage covenant between one man and one woman, it is harmful to both body and spirit. Those are passions that if indulged, are harmful. The pursuit of power over others and honor by others nurtures our pride, and that, too, is a passion that hurts, especially our relationships. Jesus pointed that out to the disciples arguing about which of them was greatest.

Just recently we heard from Scripture two whole lists of passions that can hurt and activities that can help, right in the letter to the Galatians. Look in chapter 5: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Satan, who St. Peter tells us is always prowling the world, seeking someone to devour, is horribly jealous of us. Why? Because the Evil One is mired in evil. Dante shows him buried in hell, frozen in his terrible pride. All that is analogy, but the jealousy and hunger is real. He wants the entire human race down in torment with him and his minions. So what’s his plan? Because that being, created as the highest angel, is terribly smart.

The Evil One, whom Jesus called “a liar from the beginning,” knows that the key to our salvation and sanctification and ultimate resurrection is a life of love. And that’s real love, not the sappy sentimental feeling kind of love. Aquinas reminds us that love means wishing and working for the good of another. So where the Satan-inspired culture of death tells adolescents who feel the first flush of their hormones that they are really in love and they should give sexual expression to that love, it’s really lust and it’s not a desire for good for the other. It’s just a desire to feel good for a few minutes, and always ends in spiritual disaster. Almost all the time in emotional travail and sometimes in physical agony.

In other words, Satan manipulates our passions with the objective of making us live in fear and hatred and guilt. He’s currently manipulating the pride of politicians to create fear and hatred of the other political party, and it doesn’t matter what side. I’m hearing commentators on both sides talk about their opponents as evil. That’s bound to inspire hatred and fear. What the Prince of Darkness wants is the persistence of that hatred and fear on both sides so that people get sick and so worried they begin to work on leaving the other side either bankrupt or dead. There is no victory for anyone in that.

How do we break that horrible cycle? One of my students told our class why he is a Christian: “we are the only religion that teaches us to love our enemies.” Love drives out both fear and hatred. And it’s the first fruit of the Holy Spirit–charity. Joy is the next one, and I’ll tell you that there is no joy like what comes when you forgive and begin to wish the best for your foe.