The Four Loves

without the lowest.”

The highest,” says the Imitation, “does not stand with

whole being by its very nature is one vast need; incomplete, preparatory, empty yet cluttered, crying out for Him who can untie things that are now knotted together and tie up things that are still dangling loose.

Every Christian would agree that a man’s spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God.

Since we do in reality need one another (“it is not good for man to be alone”), then the failure of this need to appear as Need-love in consciousness—in other words, the illusory feeling that it is good for us to be alone—is a bad spiritual symptom; just as lack of appetite is a bad medical symptom because men do really need food.

We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves

There was no doubt which was more like Love Himself. Divine Love is Gift-love. The Father gives all

We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves.

We need others physically, emotionally,

The Father gives all He is and has to the Son. The Son gives Himself back to the Father, and gives Himself to the world, and for the world to the Father, and thus gives the world (in Himself) back to the Father too.