"Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth! More delightful is your love than wine!"
Thus begins the Canticle of Canticles, one of the most beautiful books of Scripture. Attributed to Solomon, this inspired love song in the Old Testament represents the love between Christ and Our Lady, His Church and, more specifically, faithful souls. However, some are unaware of this traditional representation established by Holy Mother Church, and, consequently, take the strong love expressions literally and nothing more.
Many saints, particularly St. Teresa of Avila, have written about the Canticle of Canticles, trying to aright the distorted viewpoints of this book. Nevertheless, despite the saints' noteworthy efforts, some people still believe that the Canticle of Canticles is unfitting for many occasions and safer to read only privately. Though to these people the amorous Canticle of Canticles seems unfitting, the love displayed in its dramatic expressions is indeed only part of the extent of love between Christ and the perfect soul. However, it is a beautiful, unashamed love worthy of the exchange of holy thoughts on its mysteries.
Since God is infinite, the love between Him and the perfect soul is infinitely beautiful. However, this love is only imperfectly expressed in the words of the Canticle of Canticles, for our finite language is incapable of expressing the language of heaven. Nevertheless, this goal is attempted and can hardly be surpassed by other theologians. From the very beginning of the Canticle of Canticles, we realize that the soul is taken with the love of Christ when she begins the song with the words: "Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth! More delightful is your love than wine!" The Divine Spouse in turn begins His chorus: "Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, ah, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves!"
The song is filled with such beautiful love expressions from Christ to His bride, and rightly so, for, "there is no exaggeration of words whereby He might prove His love for us, which He has not exceeded by deeds," notes St. Teresa of Avila in "The Way of Perfection, and Conceptions of Divine Love." If this is the case, then we should imitate the boldness of the bride in the Canticles, who in turn imitates the boldness of Christ. This will inflame and enrich the beauty of the loving harmonies passing between Christ and the soul.
If the love between Christ and the perfect soul is so beautiful, then we should make use of the expressions in the Canticle of Canticles and not be ashamed of their strength and ardor. Even though the words are ever so bold, they are but a poor representation of reality.
St. Teresa of Avila says that it is "owing to our having too little practice in the love of God, which makes us think a soul cannot speak with God in such expressions." The words of the Canticle of Canticles are inspired by the Holy Spirit, she says, and no one should be ashamed of them. It is the baser impulse which gives rise to shame of this kind since to be ashamed of the Word is to be ashamed of God who is the Word. The Word is Eternal and thus is beneficial to souls of all ages, countries and times. Therefore, thinking that the Canticle of Canticles is merely an out-of-date love song of Solomon is incorrect. We must resist shrinking from in-depth conversations and lectures on this song just because the subject may be uncomfortable. We must set our feet on this steep mountain, for as we near the peak our understanding will increase – and with it our love for God.
For the sake of the beauty and truth in the Canticle of Canticles, it is well that this inspired book hold the central theme of spiritual conversations to unite souls more closely to the aim of life: the love of God. The Canticles describes so well this love that it demands our attention and discussion about the mysteries contained within its pages. With sorrow St. Teresa of Avila points out that people "neglect considering the great mysteries contained in those words, which are inspired by the Holy Ghost." However, voicing personal meditations to fellow travelers on the road to holiness actually matures our musings, developing them more quickly by the exchange of ideas. Then, with a better understanding of the love of God, the soul imitates the bride of the Canticle of Canticles by the natural increase of her own love towards Him.
Overall, the beautiful mysteries contained in the Canticle of Canticles speak of the love between Christ and His bride – an unfathomably beautiful, unashamed love from which we should share our fruitful meditations. Sadly, the world today is desperately lacking in true love. As lights to the world, we members of Holy Mother Church must imitate the love displayed in the Canticles and promote a similar, holy, charitable affection among our fellow exiles of this world. The goal of this life is heaven and the means: imitating the Divine Love only imperfectly expressed in the divine love song, the Canticle of Canticles.
Jyllian Carter is a parishioner of St. Ann Church and is the eldest of nine siblings. For several years, she has been an aspirant of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg, Pa., and hopes to become a postulant after high school graduation in 2016. This month the Catholic Church is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Carmelite reformer, St. Teresa of Avila.
Well, the pope came to America recently to lay a few words on us. And that's a pretty big deal for people, especially a right-wing, evangelical, snake-handling Roman Catholic like me.
After seeing a whole lot of things in the media and an awful lot more stuff on social media, it seems a lot of folks don't understand the Catholic Church, the papacy or this particular pope, especially about a lot of the things he had to tell us. So I figure I had better spend some time on these subjects at hand.
First of all, let's talk about the Roman Catholic Church. It may be hard to believe, but the Roman Catholic Church is the only church that was physically and personally founded by Jesus Christ while He was still on earth.
When the Church was created, Rome ruled the world. She saw Rome fall. She survived the Middle Ages. She saw the birth and death of Muhammad. She saw all the great empires and dynasties of Europe rise and fall. She watched as the sun rose so high over the British Empire that it never set on it. And She was there when that sun finally did set. She saw the rise and fall of Napoleon. She saw this continent discovered by Europeans. And She watched as this great nation was settled, won its independence and became the greatest nation on earth. She's survived persecution, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Plague, wars, rumors of wars, and internal corruption and scandal.
She alone has stood the test of time, and after 2,000-plus years finds Herself today as the oldest Christian institution on the face of God's earth.
During Her existence, She's been led by a pope. Christ Himself appointed St. Peter as the first pope. St. Peter and his fellow disciples were commissioned by Christ to spread the Gospel, making them the first leaders or bishops of the Church. The pope is Christ's vicar on earth and the head of the Church. All told, there have been 266 popes in an unbroken line of succession. That's quite a record.
Now comes Pope Francis, the first pope from this side of the world. To understand Pope Francis, one needs to first know that he's a member of a religious order known as the Society of Jesus, commonly called the Jesuits. They were founded by a former military man and are organized accordingly. Throughout their history they have been so tenacious and absolutely fearless when it comes to spreading the Gospel that they have often been called "God's Marines."
They are also extremely intellectual, which can sometimes make it hard for the rest of us to get their drift when they're drifting, which means they can be misunderstood – especially when so many are clamoring to hear him say what they want to hear.
So when Pope Francis told us early in his pontificate in various ways how we should show people the love of Christ first, some took this to mean the door was now open for issues such as same-sex marriage and allowing divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church to be able to receive Communion.
But a pope doesn't have the authority to change something Christ specifically taught. So if you get your Bibles out (mine is the New American Standard Version) and turn to the 19th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, you will find Christ's thought's on these subjects. Marriage is between a man and a woman, and whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.
These are hard words for our society, but they are Christ's words. Not mine.
And then there was Pope Francis' speech to Congress. Some have taken exception with some of the things he had to say: protecting the environment, caring for immigrants and refugees, and caring for the poor. He spoke about traditional marriage, the Golden Rule, and about protecting human life on many levels.
What else would the vicar of Christ talk about when addressing the leaders of the greatest nation on earth? Everything he said can be traced to Biblical teachings and the words of Christ, whether we happen to like them or not.
I think perhaps we should all listen to the pope's speeches again in light of Proverbs 4:1, "Hear, O children, a father's instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding!"
W.S. "Bill" Melton Jr. is a member of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..