Love Conquers the Storm

37. A man who has been assiduous in acquiring the fruits of love will not cease loving even if he suffers a thousand calamities. Let Stephen, the disciple of Christ, and others like him persuade you of the truth of this (cf. Acts 7:60). Our Lord Himself prayed for His murderers and asked the Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing (cf. Luke 23:34).

St. Maximus the Confessor Four Hundred Centuries on Love: #37

Think about those stories where love is so strong that nothing bad that happens can stop it. Like in the Bible, when Job loses everything but still trusts and loves God completely. Or in Charles Dickens' book "A Tale of Two Cities," where Sydney Carton loves so much that he's willing to die for someone else, showing the kind of love that doesn't end even when life does.

Maximus the Confessor reminds us of a story from the Bible about Stephen, one of Jesus' followers. Even when Stephen was being hurt by people throwing stones at him, he didn't get angry or stop loving. With his last breaths, he asked for forgiveness for them, showing that his love didn't stop because of the terrible things happening to him.

At the heart of all these stories is Jesus on the cross, asking God to forgive the very people who hurt him, saying they just didn't understand what they were doing. His words are a powerful example of love facing the worst kind of pain and not giving up.

Loving like this is like being an oak tree that doesn't fall over no matter how hard the wind blows. It's like a lighthouse that stands firm, shining its light no matter how big the waves are. It's the kind of love that doesn't shake or break, no matter what.

These stories tell us that the best kind of love doesn't change when bad things happen. They inspire us to have the same kind of love—a love that keeps going strong through the hard times, a love that always chooses to forgive and understand, no matter what.