"“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”
(1 Jn 4:16). These words from the
First Letter of John express
with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of
God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny.
Jesus
united into a single precept this commandment of love for God and the
commandment of love for neighbour found in the
Book of Leviticus: “You
shall love your neighbour as yourself” (19:18; cf. Mk 12:29-31). Since
God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere
“command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to
us.
In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even
a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant."
Pope Benedict XVI
(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)
