Life in Christ

The Economy of Love: The State of Our Calling

1 John 4

In our previous sessions, we discussed how we are made for communion. In microeconomics one of the key principles is that if one party specializes and trades, not only is the system efficient but it grows. The economic principles of gains from trade, comparative advantage, and specialization can be analogously applied to the theological context of love, communion, and spiritual growth. By recognizing and sharing our unique gifts and engaging in mutual exchanges of love, we enhance our own lives and the lives of others, reflecting the divine economy of salvation and the ultimate goal of communion with God and humanity. More than that, the "system" is enriched, in that God provides for our relationships in which He is the center. 

Let us continue understanding how this is True

1. Ephesians 5:25-33, Mark 8:35: In relationships of love and communion, there is a mutual exchange of self-gift, reflecting the divine love of the Trinity. This mutual exchange leads to spiritual growth and deeper communion with God and others. By engaging in relationships where love is freely given and received, individuals participate in the divine economy of love. This mirrors the economic principle where mutual exchange leads to increased welfare, but on a spiritual and existential level. This mutual exchange leads to a richer, more abundant communal life.

2. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Romans 12:4-8: Each person is called to a specific vocation or way of life in which they can best express love and serve others. By dedicating themselves to their unique callings (specializing), they contribute more effectively to the common good. In living out their vocations, whether in marriage, priesthood, religious life, or other forms of service, individuals help build a society where love and service are maximized. This mirrors the efficiency gained through economic specialization.

   1. Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 16

      1. We come to a full sense of the dignity of the lay faithful if we consider the prime and fundamental vocation that the Father assigns to each of them in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit: the vocation to holiness, that is, the perfection of charity. Holiness is the greatest testimony of the dignity conferred on a disciple of Christ...

      2. It is ever more urgent that today all Christians take up again the way of gospel renewal, welcoming in a spirit of generosity the invitation expressed by the apostle Peter "to be holy in all conduct" (1 Pt 1:15). The 1985 Extraordinary Synod, twenty years after the Council, opportunely insisted on this urgency: "Since the Church in Christ is a mystery, she ought to be considered the sign and instrument of holiness... Men and women saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult circumstances in the Church's history. Today we have the greatest need of saints whom we must assiduously beg God to raise up"[42].

      3. Everyone in the Church, precisely because they are members, receive and thereby share in the common vocation to holiness. In the fullness of this title and on equal par with all other members of the Church, the lay faithful are called to holiness: "All the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity"[43]. "All of Christ's followers are invited and bound to pursue holiness and the perfect fulfillment of their own state of life"[44].

      4. The call to holiness is rooted in Baptism and proposed anew in the other Sacraments, principally in the Eucharist. Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are "holy". They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all that they do. The apostle Paul never tires of admonishing all Christians to live "as is fitting among saints" (Eph 5:3).

      5. Life according to the Spirit, whose fruit is holiness (cf. Rom 6:22;Gal 5:22), stirs up every baptized person and requires each to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, in embracing the Beatitudes, in listening and meditating on the Word of God, in conscious and active participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, in personal prayer, in family or in community, in the hunger and thirst for justice, in the practice of the commandment of love in all circumstances of life and service to the brethren, especially the least, the poor and the suffering.

3. Matthew 18:19-20; 1 Thessaloinians 3:12 Communion with God and others is the ultimate "trade" of love. By engaging in loving relationships and spiritual exchanges, individuals experience the fullness of life and divine love, which brings about greater personal and communal welfare. The concept of communion as described in the quotations highlights that by "trading" love (sharing, giving, and receiving love), individuals and communities grow in dignity, value, and spiritual richness. This trade of love is not only beneficial but essential for a meaningful existence.

   1. Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 18

      1.  Love of neighbour is thus shown to be possible in the way proclaimed by the Bible, by Jesus. It consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings. Then I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend. Going beyond exterior appearances, I perceive in others an interior desire for a sign of love, of concern. This I can offer them not only through the organizations intended for such purposes, accepting it perhaps as a political necessity. Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave. Here we see the necessary interplay between love of God and love of neighbour which the First Letter of John speaks of with such insistence. If I have no contact whatsoever with God in my life, then I cannot see in the other anything more than the other, and I am incapable of seeing in him the image of God. But if in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be “devout” and to perform my “religious duties”, then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely “proper”, but loveless. Only my readiness to encounter my neighbour and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well. Only if I serve my neighbour can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me. The saints—consider the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta—constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its real- ism and depth in their service to others. Love of God and love of neighbour are thus inseparable, they form a single commandment. But both live from the love of God who has loved us first. No longer is it a question, then, of a “commandment” imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely-bestowed experience of love from within, a love which by its very nature must then be shared with others. Love grows through love. Love is “divine” because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a “we” which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).

   2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1878

      1. All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the unity of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love. Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.

4. 1 Corinthians 13:13, Philippians 2:3-4, John 15:12-13 The principle that "whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35) can be seen as a profound spiritual trade. By giving up self-centered pursuits (trading them for a life of love and service), individuals gain eternal life and true fulfillment. Just as economic trade leads to greater material welfare, spiritual "trade"—sacrificing self-interest for the sake of love and communion—leads to greater spiritual welfare and ultimate fulfillment in God.