The whole world was created on the intentional “yes” of God. Had he not said “yes,” nothing would have been created. It’s that lovely opening to John’s Gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
I’m always struck by that: “Without him, nothing came to be.” There could never have been “nothing.” God was always there, and God fills everything, down to the molecules and atoms. So, there can only
be “nothing” where God is not. Like an idea, an intention is a thing; what God has created in his intention — his “Yes” — has no counterpart in “no.” I often hear that Catholicism is the “church of ‘no’” or that the Commandments are all about “no,” but how we receive things is a choice we make. If it all looks like “no” to us, it is because we’ve chosen to understand it as “no” — and we’re backed up in that understanding by the affirmation of the world, which seems so full of “yes” — the permission to indulge all of our longings. But the world is worldly; how can we use a worldly measure to receive what is other-worldly? The God of No; Church of No; Rules of No are only “no” if we insist on keeping our understanding tied to what is before our eyes and earthbound. But if we choose to broaden and deepen how we receive a thing, we are more likely to discover the “yes” that underpins everything.
That from an interview Ms. Scalia had with National Review's Kathryn Lopez is but a glimpse of the light she's shining on seeing and living life through the prism of Catholic thought.
Here's a tad more on the word love and its meaning today:
It’s the most important word, and we haven’t a clue anymore what it means. It is a word of depth, communicating all kinds of messages about permanence, commitment, self-abnegation, and sacrifice, but it has become like the word “amazing!” so overused as to be rendered meaningless — they’re wallpaper words we use to shove into awkward moments. “I love your dress. I love the flowers by the road. Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh, I’m lovin’ it!” Really?
I used to tease my kids, “You love it? Would you want to marry it?” What is the action of love? Love creates; love supports; love surrenders. I think so many people choose to use the reading from 1 Corinthians 13 at their weddings because they’re rather desperate for someone to define what mature love really is in an age where the word is thrown around so casually, and where love no longer seems like something that can be permanent or unconditional.
Read the whole thing and walk away a little brighter.