On the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, this sermon examines one of St. Augustine’s most striking sayings:

“Love and do whatever you want.”

Does Christian love mean following our whims? Absolutely not.

If we truly love Jesus Christ, our desires themselves begin to change. We want Christ to live within us. We willingly embrace obedience, sacrifice, discipline, humiliation, and even suffering because these were the very means by which Christ showed His love for us.

St. Augustine teaches that love is the virtue that unites us to God. Scripture tells us that God loved us first, even giving His only-begotten Son for our salvation.

A meditation from St. Bernard asks Christ why He accepted chains and suffering that properly belonged to sinners. The answer: “Out of love.”

The sermon applies this especially to religious life. Would we obey the Rule of St. Benedict perfectly even if nobody were watching? Would we remain faithful if completely alone?

St. Bartholomew gives the ultimate answer. His love for Christ led him not toward comfort but toward martyrdom, traditionally suffering flaying and beheading rather than abandoning Our Lord.

Christ went to the Cross for us.

The question becomes:

“What shalt thou do for Me?”

May Holy Communion teach us what true love really is—and give us the strength to cling to it through thick and thin.

St. Bartholomew, pray for us!

00:00 St. Bartholomew, Pray for Us
00:41 “Thou Hast Known My Sitting and Rising”
00:57 The Purpose of Religious Life
01:24 “I Love Them That Love Me”
01:44 St. Augustine: Love Unites Us to God
02:05 “Love and Do Whatever You Want”
02:36 Loving Jesus as a Willing Slavery
03:02 God Loved Us First
03:21 The Charity of Christ Presseth Us
04:09 If We Truly Love Christ
04:36 Would Love Choose Suffering?
05:13 Christ Died for Me — I Must Die for Him
05:22 St. Bernard Meditates on Christ’s Chains
05:54 Christ’s Answer: “Out of Love”
06:09 Loving the Rule of St. Benedict
06:34 Faithfulness When Nobody Is Watching
06:57 “What Shalt Thou Do for Me?”
07:13 Is St. Augustine’s Saying Really Scandalous?
07:49 Love Becomes a Second Nature
08:08 St. Bartholomew’s Example
08:36 Love That Chose Martyrdom
08:56 Holy Communion Reveals True Love
09:30 Light and Heat Require Friction
09:47 Sensus Fidelium App

For more please visit http://reginaecclesiae.com/ & remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the priest

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