Thursday, January 17, 2008

Where does love begin?

TS writes this morning:

The weakness of the message of Persuasion (Jane Austin-ed)seems to me the weakness of all (modern?) love stories: that only the course to true love doesn't run smooth. Our hero and heroine overcome tremendous odds to find their soulmate and afterwards all is tranquil. But love begins, not ends, with marriage (Jane Austen never married). Is the romantic equivalent in theological terms the 'once saved, always saved' doctrine?

(I love his connection to the 'once saved' aspect-I would never have thought of that.) Reading this immediately reminded me of a post I put up here 3 years ago. Reading it again this morning, I see some possible flaws, but I still think it is worth revisiting-even if it is pretty long. Here's a snip:

I believe a love story – if it is authentic – should be modeled after Christ’s love shown in the Gospels. We remember that Christ suffered and died for his bride – this then is the model of true love and thus married love. (If those of you who are single don’t believe suffering is the hallmark of authentic love – just wait until you are married, ha! ha!)

Therefore, I submit two of the great (fictional) love stories, concern married couples. These are classics, both of literature and film so I will discuss them without completely summarizing the plots. (For those who haven’t read these, or seen their respective movies, I hope this effort encourages you, rather than giving away the entire plot). Of course the two works I am speaking about are The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy and Random Harvest by James Hilton.

and here's the link if you want to read the whole thing.

Our Lady of Joyful Hope-pray for us! ... Oremus pro invicem!

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