My friends from a cabaret announced one a song of their performance in these words: "There are one million songs about love. Behold the one million and first song". This short, funny statement is a good illustration, how love is important for us. Love is a subject of uncountable number of poems, novels, plays, films, songs, pictures. I can risk saying that love is the most popular theme in art, the greatest driving force of human acting, and the most common dream: to love and to be loved. Love is something most desired and, sadly, most difficult to achieve.

In the Greek language, a language of the New Testament, we can find three different terms about love. Eros means a sensual, bodily and sexual relationship. We would use this term, when we talk about casual sex. The second term, filia, we would translate as friendship. The third term, agape, means love full of sacrifice and devotion. This is the most spiritual meaning, this is an ideal love. This term, agape, is the most common word about love in the New Testament. In today’s gospel this word is used as well.

Our world seems to be a place, where love is easily available. Sexuality and nudity are around us, some medicines gives an opportunity to enjoy love without anxiety and/or negative consequences. Is this world happy? I don’t think so. The world is full of disappointed and embittered people. People, who say "love is an illusion". But this is not true about love. This can be true about us.

Whatever we think about ourselves, everybody is a selfish person. When people fall in love it means that two egotisms meet each other. This relationship is fascination at the beginning which then could be transformed into love. But this transformation demands mutual and constant effort and cooperation. Love is not  something, that can be gained once and will last forever. Love is a dynamic and very fragile relationship, which needs sustained care.

Happy human love needs love for God. If I feel loved by God, I will treat his commandments and direction as something good, which can help me live better and love more. I can find a way to forgive and to receive forgiveness, I am able to recognize my errors, mistakes and wrongdoings. I love another person with his or her virtues and despite his or her vices - like God loves me.

If we are looking for a model of love, we should look at the cross and listen to Jesus’ words: "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends" (J 15,13). These words concern family love as well. Maybe it seems a paradox, but when I die for myself, my selfishness and egotism, I will find greater love.