Perfect Love

Written By: Sophia Tsikouris

Teacher: Father Nikolai Meyers

Issue: Set to Appear in the September 2020 Issue of the Newsletter

In the time of this virus there is great fear and suffering, but there is only one remedy for
this pandemic, love. Exactly, what is love? In our world love is sometimes thought of as a fluffy
romantic feeling. The Bible, which is the answer to all of our problems, says in 1st John 4:18
that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Especially, during these difficult
times, some have immense fear, even within our homes. Within our homes we have to strive to
have perfect love for our siblings, parents, grandparents and other family members. In times of
worldly suffering our love can make an impact on how our family handles this current pandemic.

This Coronavirus is testing our love to our neighbor, in this case our neighbors can be
our family. Another bible teaching is, love thy neighbor as thyself as found in Mathew 22:39.
That’s something we all need to work on. Usually, we focus on showing love to our friends, but
now that we are confined to our homes it’s time to strive for perfect love inside the home. This
time is a test, will our relationship with our family grow? Some examples of practicing love could
be, obeying right away, cutting our will, and being a peacemaker. Philotimo, which means love,
is a word used by many saints and is now used in our home. Love is also mentioned in 1st Cor.
13:4 and says love is patient, love is kind, love doesn’t envy. We are called to be patient, with
our brothers and sisters, always kind, and not envy them. Hopefully, Christ and His angels will
be pleased with the progress of our striving to have perfect love for our family.

During Lent, we are called to repentance, to have a change of heart, it is the time to
learn to truly love the people in our homes and to strive to be a more loving person. Love will
really make an impact on our lives and how our family handles this virus. Whether showing
more kindness, or being a peacemaker; they are both acts of perfect love. We should at least
pick one loving virtue to work on, for the rest of this Lent, Holy Week, and time of quarantine.
The prayer of St. Ephrem says, but grant rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love
to thy servant. When we prostrate after each verse of the prayer of our beloved St. Ephrem, we

are asking Christ to answer our prayer and forgive us. Discussing love is important because it
has made me want to really strive for perfect love towards my neighbors and also please my
Lord and God Jesus Christ.