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I wish to repeat an oft repeated story. Two little birds were living in a forest. They were good friends. They loved each other so much that each one desired to please the other. One of them liked red roses very much.
It was a bright and beautiful day. It was the birthday of one of them. The other bird thought to himself; “Today I will surprise him by giving him a red rose as the best gift of my love for him.”
He told the friend that he is going out and will be back by noon and then flew into the forest looking for a red rose. It went round and round through the forest but did not find any red rose. It sat on a branch of a tree to rest a while. He could see many other flowers but did not find a red rose. But he could not give up. Again he went around carefully looking between the plants and bushes but no red roses anywhere. The bird was really tired and disappointed that he had no gift for his friend. It was already afternoon. But at last his eyes caught sight of plant full of while roses. “There is no other way, let me give him a white rose the bird thought to himself. It went round the plant to pluck one white rose, but alas, a sharp thorn went through his heart and it was bleeding, but the bird went on plucking the flower and the blood dripped drop by drop on the white petals.
The friend was so amazed that its companion did not come back at the promised time. He was always faithful to his promise. He flew to the forest in search of the friend. At last before the sunset he found his friend lying on the ground motionless and a red rose at his side.
It is so with a person so closely united with Christ. The more the person is close to Christ, the more he or she is detached from self. The more she wants to please him the more she wants to be like Christ. As St. Paul says “ It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20) When the person gets more close to Christ, he or she not only want to be like Christ but all the more they want to be like Christ in his suffering, to share his passion. Ant it is there that the white rose of purity of the love of the person is wet by the blood offered to the Lord as a sign of love.
Love demands that one learns to focus one’s attention to the other. Love understands what is said and what is not able to be said. When love is the driving force and life principle of someone that person will understand the other even without words. The language spoken here is only the language of love.
True love is not merely doing good but it is the expansion of the heart.
When we truly love it is easy to forgive as St. Teresa says there is nothing unbearable or offensive to those who love.
We can bring beauty and vitality to our life only by sacrificial love as Jesus himself has taught us.