Paul Claudel on love of neighbor

Ave Maria!  Yesterday's Magnificat contained an excellent reflection by Paul Claudel on what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.  It comes from his book I Believe in God: A Meditation on the Apostles' Creed, the full text of which can be found on the Web here.  This book is also available from various booksellers.


Love of Neighbor

The second of the great commandments charges us to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what is meant by fellowship: that there is not one of these individuals whom an ill-named chance thrusts in our path and offers to our scrutiny who is not our brother and with whom, as children of God, we are not the co-heirs of a certain joint legacy.

Yes, this peasant with his leathery face, this cringing and surly alcoholic, the image of the concierge's fat dog, this storekeeper, with her mean scowl, repainting her ancient lips: these are our brothers and sisters; Jesus Christ died for them. There is a star embedded in the heart of this tormented flesh, deeper than the redeeming drachma in the belly of the carp of Genesareth.

Loving our neighbor means something altogether different from courtesy, or a doubtful and meager forbearance. It springs from the awareness of this universal summons, this interrogation which will not tire of knocking until the door has been opened; somewhere, some debt is owed to us which we cannot remove until it has been discharged.

The day has come when it is absolutely necessary that we learn to get along with this brother who is thrust forcibly, whether we want him or not, into our arms.
 
~Paul Claudel
 

Dear Lord, bring us to the fullness of charity.  Amen.