“Perfect love, we know, casteth out fear. But so do several other things—ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption, and stupidity. It is very desirable that we should all advance to that perfection of love in which we shall fear no longer; but it is very undesirable, until we have reached that stage, that we should allow any inferior agent to cast out our fear.” (C.S. Lewis)
“We will give anything to live eternally, and we all long after perfect love, love that never changes but lasts forever. God is life, He is love, peace and joy. There are those who oppose Him, but they can do nothing to hurt Him. It is we who complicate our own lives with our negative thoughts." (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
“Several considerations may be help us in striving toward the perfect love of God and man which is agape. The first consideration is to realize that none of us is without sin. The second is that we have to examine our own sins and not those of others. The next thought to keep in mind is that we can we can judge acts (behaviors) but not the state of soul of the other. Only God knows what is in the heart of the other. As Jesus told the Pharisees: "God knows your hearts." (Lk 16: 15).” (Fr. George Morelli)
“Many espouse punishments for people but don’t talk about compassion and redemption. Christ loved with a perfect love even seeking the forgiveness of those that crucified Him. This is an attitude we need to emulate in how we view ourselves and our failings and how we view others.” (Joseph Girzone, Sacramental Living)
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.” (St. John the Theologian)
“…God's love is a continuously abiding, healing, and transforming presence in our lives. The love of God accords peace and tranquility to every aspect of our lives, especially within our families, which are called to be communities of care and intimacy that reflect His perfect love.” (Archbishop Demetrios of America)
“The Holy Trinity is the perfect model of fellowship; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share perfect communion and exist in perfect love as a community. By gathering together in fellowship, and by showing love for one another in Christ, we emulate the life of the Holy Trinity in our daily life.” (Archpriest Joseph Purpura)
“Perfect love of God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength will not happen until we are no longer compelled to think about ourselves.” (Bernard of Clairvaux)
“Christ tells us to die to self so that we can grow in His love and reflect His love which is perfect. Though we will never love perfectly, our daily commitment to Him and growing in our union with Him will result in us loving others increasingly the way He would have us love others.” (Sacramental Living Blog)
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