Memorial of Saint John Neumann
January 5, 2021
Daily reading from the USCCB: 1 John 4:7-10
It is not the case that God loves us and redeems us because we have first loved him. Rather, our love for God is always a response to his prior initiative of love. God is love and God has loved us first. Our love for God–which includes our love for those that God loves–is always an answer, a response to God’s life-giving undertaking of our redemption.
Loving God is not something that we undertake on our initiative but something that God undertakes on his. Love has its origin in God. Our love for our neighbor is a reflection of God’s love for us.
We don’t come to know God because we love him. Rather we love God and know God because he loves us.
