In the 2001 film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, based on the novel by Louis de Bernières, the actor John Hurt delivers a memorable monologue to his daughter who is caught between her love for a local partisan and an Italian soldier who is occupying her homeland during World War 2. This monologue describes love, and when I first heard it, I was really struck by it, so I would like to share it with you.
“Love is a temporary madness; it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.
Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.
Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.”[1]
This is a reading which is often used at secular weddings, to describe the love a couple have for each other. But there are elements which we, as Christians need to be aware of. The first thing is that love is not a feeling; it is a decision. We decide when and whether to love those in front of us. Whether it is in our family relationships or in the people we meet. We constantly make decisions as to how we demonstrate our love. The second element is that those who truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground. In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us that ‘all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’. We form the Body of Christ. Using the analogy from the monologue, if we truly love, then our roots grow together and we are no longer several different individuals, but we become one, which is the Body of Christ.
This ‘new commandment’ given to us by Jesus is supported by the other scripture readings we have today. Notably in the psalm used we hear ‘The Lord is kind and full of compassion… abounding in mercy….good to all….compassionate to all his creatures.’ The psalm continues ‘your works shall thank you, O LORD, they shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your mighty deeds.’ Remembering that Jesus said people will know His followers by their love, the psalm continues ‘ to make known your might to the whole human race, and the glorious splendour of your reign.’
Jesus is telling us that our faith is not a theoretical faith, we are called to love, in other words to make the decision to love others. Our Church is not confined by the walls of any building. We have to go beyond the walls, we are called to search for the lost and the lonely, we are all called to be missionary. In his first public remarks as pope, His Holiness Leo XIV offered one piece of his vision for the Church: “We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges (and) dialogue, always open to receive (people), like this square, with open arms – everyone, all those who need our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.”[2] In 2023, on his transfer from Peru to Rome he said “I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”
Pope Leo is telling us that to be a Christian is to be a Missionary and that to be a Missionary we do not have to travel very far. There are poor and lonely people probably sitting amongst us in our congregation today and there are people in need in our communities; we are all called to help them.
Jesus tells us today, ‘people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ So how do we measure up in our Pastoral Area in 2025?
In our neighbourhood and across the Pastoral Area, would they recognise us as followers of Jesus by our love? How do we as the Catholic Community in this Pastoral Area demonstrate our love for one another and our neighbour? We all need to ask ourselves, how do I as an individual express my love for other people?
We all know that when things are good, showing our love for others can be quite easy…it’s in those difficult and challenging times when the decision to love comes into its own. I experienced a real challenge in the middle of writing this. I had already struggled to return some items to a well-known DIY shop; only to be told that I needed to go through a 3rd party to agree the return; on speaking with them, I experienced real frustration, not only as a result of waiting 25 minutes to get through to them on the phone, but that the advice they gave me seemed to be a waste of time. When the lady on the phone asked me if there was anything else she could help me with, I replied that she hadn’t helped me at all, and I put the phone down. I then found myself feeling really disappointed at myself and wondering how I could treat another human being in this way. Had it not been for the length of time it took me to get through to her in the first place, I would have called back again and apologised. I know that I need to stop allowing my emotions get the better of me and try to understand things from the other person’s perspective too. Only then will I be able to demonstrate to myself that I am loving as Jesus is loving.
Further Reading
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
Fifth Sunday of Easter
CCC 2746-2751: Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper
CCC 459, 1823, 2074, 2196, 2822, 2842: “as I have loved you”
CCC 756, 865, 1042-1050, 2016, 2817: a new heavens and a new earth
Please keep in your prayers this week
- The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
- Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
- The continued fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
- The 11 families completing the Baptism Preparation sessions this Sunday at St Bede’s.
- The children who made their First Holy Communion at St Bede’s this weekend and all those preparing for their First Holy Communion in the Pastoral Area in the next few weeks.
Deacon Tony, 16th May 2025
[1] Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, [Vintage Books, 1998]
[2] Quotes on Mission from Pope Leo XIV | Congregation of Holy Cross