Fall is the perfect time to cozy up by the fireplace and read a good book as you watch colored leaves rock back and forth gently to the ground.
There are plenty of incredible books to choose from; but there’s one book that I can’t recommend enough- and I recommend it to everyone regardless of individual beliefs or dis-beliefs. It’s technically considered an encyclical, which is a Vatican document produced by the Pope, for the world and the Church. It’s one of many rich, incredibly valuable Vatican documents.
God is Love
This book is one written by Benedict XVI, the pope who preceded Pope Francis, and was published on December 25th, 2005. It’s called God is Love (or in Latin, Deus Caritas Est). It’s no surprise that this book was published on Christmas Day. It’s just that—a perfect gift just waiting to be read. It’s all the excitement of Christmas Day and the beauty of the crestfallen snow. It’s the perfect explanation of Jesus Christ—who is Love—the basis of our faith.
Do you believe in love?
I’ll never forget when my 1st grader came home from school and shared that his friend didn’t believe in God. He seemed surprised to have learned this, as this was right after the pandemic and I guess that topic hadn’t come up in our socially distanced world. He must’ve assumed everyone believed in God, like we did.
When he shared that, I responded by showing the similarity between our beliefs and his friend’s beliefs. Do you think she believes in love? I asked. Because God is Love. So we might all believe in Love.
That answer satisfied him, and he agreed that his friend surely believed in love. But he would discuss this with her to further explore the topic.
We can see Love
This conversation brought me back a few years ago, when my son (same one) asked why we couldn’t see God. He was confused; we talked about God a lot, and he could see all kinds of things, but we couldn’t see God. I explained: We can’t see God, but God is Love. And we can see Love.
And then, when he and his brother were caring for each other or sharing, I would point out that I saw Love, and I saw God. We did this for some time—point out acts of love between two individuals—noting that we can see Love.
Read “God is Love”
This Fall, you might as well not only see Love, and believe in Love, but you might also want to read about Love. In Pope Benedict XVI’s God is Love, you’ll be truly stunned. You’ll explore love in a whole new way, finding out that “love is indeed ‘ecstasy’” (Benedict XVI, 2005), and that love guides one on a path of self-discovery. You’ll read about love of neighbor and how we can constantly renew our capacity for love. You’ll read more about the visible manifestations of love, confirming that we can see Love. And, you’ll find out how love is possible.
I have to reiterate that I recommend this book for people of all belief and non-belief systems. I’m not sure many people would argue against love. And it is, presumably, the driving force behind most world religions. For example, read this Patheos blog about how love is key to the Christian faith. And, likely often cited by nonbelievers as something in which they do indeed believe.
Why read “God is Love”
Lastly, why would it make sense to devote time this Fall to reading about Love? Well, when we read, we activate brain regions associated with the meaning of words (Boukrina & Graves, 2013). So when we read “tree,” our “tree neurons,” or brain cells, activate. You might have guessed, then, that when we read “love,” our “love neurons” activate. What better meaning to activate than LOVE?
Read “God is Love” this Fall
So, what better way to spend this lovely Fall season than by activating your “love neurons,” finding out how to see love everywhere, and recognizing the path towards making love possible? Let’s read God is Love, regardless of your beliefs, and in doing so, let’s activate those brain networks corresponding to LOVE and thus, let’s hope we all love more.
References
Boukrina, O., & Graves, W. W. (2013). Neural networks underlying contributions from semantics in reading aloud. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 518.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In