Build On A Loving Foundation

The third-century life of Saint Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, might have given rise to the comedy tag line: “It’s always something,” but his troubles and those of the church were anything but funny. If it wasn’t a heresy, it was bitter controversy over whether someone who had renounced the faith might be reconciled with the church; or it was exile, or the plague, or schism. Cyprian’s response was always generosity. During a terrible plague, for example, he himself cared for the sick and buried the dead—Christians and non-Christians alike—exemplifying his own words: “Love is the foundation of all the virtues.” How can love calm the troubles of your own life today?