47. THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM CANNOT BE OTHER THAN ESSE AND EXISTERE IN OTHERS CREATED BY ITSELF

Love in itself is not to love self, but to love others and to be conjoined with them by love. An essential of love also is to be loved by others, for thus is conjunction effected. The essence of all love consists in conjunction, it is indeed its life which is called enjoyment, delight, sweetness, blessedness, happiness and felicity. Love consists in this that its own is another's; and to feel another's joy as joy in oneself, this is to love. But to feel one's joy in another and not the other's joy in oneself, this is not to love, for the latter is loving one's self, the former loving the neighbour. The two kinds of love are diametrically opposed to one another. Either kind of love does indeed conjoin; and it does not appear that to love oneself, that is, to love oneself in another, disjoins. But yet it does disjoin to such a degree that, so far as anyone has loved another in this manner, so far he afterwards hates him. For such a conjunction is by itself successively dissolved, and then, in like measure, the love becomes hatred.

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Jesus tell us to feed the hungry, and this week we start with a call to do just that. Locally, hunger isn't a major issue, but we can feed others in different ways. Take a look at the people around you...what can you do for them? It doesn't have to be huge, but just as Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves a bread and 2 fish, you can spread a little bit of love and knowledge a long way.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 5147; Divine Love and Wisdom 47-5; Matthew 14:13-21, 25:31-46)