Too Much “I Love You”
July 27, 2017
THE OVER-USE of the expression “I love you” reduces its powerful meaning, writes Dr. Marian Horvat:
These words signify one of the highest and noblest sentiments of man. Love is an act of the will that indicates that he desires the best possible for the person who benefits from his affections and is willing to sacrifice himself for that end. Scriptures speaks splendidly of love as charity and poets make grandiloquent verses in its honor.
It used to be that these words, which have a deep significance, were not spoken lightly. They were reserved for very special occasions and said only for particular persons and relationships, parents and children, husbands and wives, etc. When the suitor first spoke them to the young lady he was courting, it was a moment to be remembered and cherished.
A declaration of love used to be a serious expression of commitment, as in courtship
They were words that expressed par excellence an exceptional sentiment born from a great affinity of wills and a singular intention of lifelong dedication. We take this noble position of soul for but very few persons. We can have this sentiment toward our parents, siblings, children and spouses.
The rareness of this sentiment corresponds perfectly to the monogamist marriage – one husband for one wife. Once in a while we dedicate an analogous love to a superior whom we take as a model. However, we never say to a superior, “I love you.”
No one can have this rare and extraordinary intensity of love for every person he meets.
The love we are supposed to have for our neighbor is of a different type, which does not require the declaration “I love you.” It is a calm and normal love that is expressed and understood by the actions made and the manner they are undertaken and received. It does not require anything else.
