People embrace powerful, emotional love stories. The greater the love story reveals great sacrifices. Sacrificial Love, better called Agape Love, makes these stories great. No greater love story exists than Jesus dying on the cross. In the early Church, Mass was called a “Love Feast” or an Agape Feast showing the unconditional love of Jesus, Who gives his life for his Church. His love frees us from death and sin. However, Agape love is only one of four types of love.
For a Christian to live Agape Love; to love unconditionally as did Jesus, we must first know we are Beloved by the Father: To be beloved by the Father is Storge Love, or Familial Love. The Father has storge love for his Son Jesus as we read when He is baptized by John in the Jordan: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. ”
Storge Love of the Father for the Son is the same love that the Father has for us. We too are his beloved children. He is well pleased with us, not because we are good enough, but He created us good, created in his image and likeness.
Parents create storge love. They are to love children in this same way. Storge love upholds the child as unconditionally good, created in God’s image. Without this affirming love at a young age, children then adults suffer from despair and desolation looking for love in all the wrong places.
Philia Love, Brotherly Love, is another love. We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus and must see Jesus as our elder brother Who mentors us. This love creates deep friendships that support and correct us always. Without this love, we become lost as were the two brothers in the Prodigal Son story. The father loved them both and gave them all he had; yet, the two competed with each other, one acting self-righteously and the other acting selfishly. With filial love, we do not compete but share love as brothers and sisters do.
Finally there is Eros Love, which has the sense of romantic love. This love, as understood in its original context, sees another’s goodness, truth, and beauty. Embracing another as created in God’s image, we never use another, but respect and reverence their divine beauty.