God is Love (1John 1:8). He consists of love, gives love, consumes love, breathes love….every fiber of His being is LOVE. Therefore, if we do not love, we do not have God within us.

The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. If we hate someone or something, we still have feelings for that person/for it. However, if we are indifferent, we do not have feelings for him/her/it…we don’t care about him/her/it. Therefore, if we do not care if a person is happy and safe and feels loved, and/or if we do not care if we hurt their feelings by not visiting them or thanking them for what they have done for us….then we do not love him or her. Likewise, if we do not care if we talk to God (pray)…if we do not care whether or not we go to Church to bring Christ into us in the form of the Eucharist or to worship Him…if we do not care if we are pleasing God…if we do not care what happens to those around us, following God’s commandment to love one another, then…we do not love, i.e. we do not have God within us. To love means to bring God into your heart and to shower it onto those around you, including God himself, who deserves our greatest effort to love.

For a good article about God’s love and its effect on us, please see: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/gods-love-is-effective