Photo Prayer:
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
There is an order of priority in the exercise of charity towards the different objects of our love: this order extends to natural and supernatural love, and corresponds to the order of our adhesion to the different forms of life. God has "ordered all things in measure, number and weight" (Wisd. xi. 21). We must first adhere to the supreme and universal Life, as being the first and the only absolutely necessary life. Then we must seek the perfection of life in the sphere which is our special care; that is, we must love ourselves with a well-ordered love, for our personal salvation is above all other things, and the supernatural love of self is therefore above all love of other creatures, and above the love of our natural life. As regards our fellow-men, their supernatural life is much more than our own natural life, and we should be ready to make a sacrifice accordingly, whenever these two come into competition. If the choice is between the natural life of oneself and one's neighbour, the claims are equal, for we have to love our neighbour as ourselves; but, according to Christian law, it is a more perfect expression of well-ordered love if we give our life for our friends; and this is rational too, for it accords with those provisions of nature in the lower order which make for the maintenance of the life of the species in preference to individual life. Adhere above all to the supreme Life, and this will guide the order of your love in all its other degrees.
