In our times it seems that Christian love has faded away. People hate one another, sons of the same people, even members of the same family hate each other. Why has Cristian love faded away? The best answer is provided by John who said “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). God is love. God and the sacrifice of His son are the spring of love and once you have truly found this spring, your life itself becomes a spring of Christian love.

Jesus left us the Gospel of love and till the end of this world, there will not be another Gospel more wonderful than this one. The core of Christianity is this one: the love of God and of people. On the commandment about loving God and people, Jesus said that “hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40).

(Translation from: Preot Iosif Trifa, Mai lângă Domnul meu, Editura Oastea Domnului, Sibiu, 2003, p. 77)