A psychologist once described the ideal relationship between parent and child as one of infinite trust from the child towards the parent and one of infinite hope from the parent towards the child. This bond is held together by love, and this love is a force that cannot be restricted or contained.
Something similar can be said about the Holy Trinity. God’s is a self-emptying love that flows between its members. But it doesn’t end there. By God’s divine will, it overflows and pours out into us. As St. Paul declares in his letter to the Romans: “Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
The verb “pour” is used not only by Paul, but also in today’s first reading from the book of Proverbs. It’s easy to imagine this freely flowing force. That’s what love is. But, as part of our human condition, somewhere along the way, and oftentimes in the home, our hope and our trust in this love has been shaken, damaged. We can find ourselves closed off to receiving love or fearful of pouring out a love that will only fall into a void.
We are like earthen vessels that have been cracked or broken along the way. These openings can be understood not as irreparable damage, but as entryways for God’s force of love to freely flow into us and through us to others. May the Spirit of love pour out into our hearts indeed.