“Ti amo” in Italian means “I love you.” As simple as the one syllable word “love” is, its DNA is anything but simple.
At the Supreme Court, there is a depiction of Moses, the great lawgiver Solon and Confucius. Kneeling at their feet is a woman representing mercy. The Latin word “misericordia” means mercy. It is one of six qualities of love renowned theologian St. Thomas Aquinas lists. The six are joy, peace, mercy, beneficence, almsgiving and fraternal correction.
At an entrance to the U.S. Capitol stands a statue representing peace, yet another quality of love.
“The Apotheosis of Democracy” depicts Peace with Genius at her feet and portrayals of agrarianism and industrialism. On one side of them is the Pacific Ocean and on the other side the Atlantic Ocean. One interpretation is to see it as the joy of our country’s uplifting progress, joy that is best cherished when envisioned as God’s blessings.
Benevolence, another quality of love, means wishing good for another. Like the other virtues pertaining to love, it inspires an open, loving heart.
When addressing the virtue of peace, Thomas Merton wrote, “Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.”
Peace, like the essential qualities of love, is precious. When it is present, our spirits soar and we experience a heavenly calm. But “it requires greater heroism than war.” Why is this so?
It is because it takes everything in our power to preserve peace and the other qualities of love. A day does not pass in which we do not hear of violence on our streets, in our homes and throughout the world. Add to this a constant stream of dishonesty, backbiting and twisted truths, and we have the direct antithesis of love’s qualities and the caring heart they inspire.
Merton’s insight on the earnest need for heroic labor in preserving love’s essential qualities is visionary in alerting us to the strength needed to support love.