The Eternal Flame

The state of the U.S. has been sitting heavy with me. The U.S. and religion. More specifically, how Trump convinced Catholics and Christians that his morals align with theirs, and how I can share the same religion yet hold completely opposite views. And if our views are opposite, then I have to ask: is it even the same religion?

Those questions led me here, to something I now call the eternal flame.

I believe God is an eternal flame, always lit, never dimmed. The flame is warm, it is steady. It represents everything that is good. The flame is love itself. And we, the believers, are candles. Each of us chooses whether or not to dip our wick into that flame and say, I choose love. We are all welcomed. God tells us He loves us forever without limit, without condition. If you turn to God and ask, Do you really love me? the answer is yes. It will always be yes.

And so, I began asking myself: if God is love, how do I relate to those I disagree with? I thought about the questions that flood the media, the ones that once made my chest tighten. Is abortion evil? Do gay people deserve marriage? Do some lives matter more than others because they pay taxes, because they hold power, because they fit a certain mold?

At first, those questions had no answer. Then I sat with them. And I realized something that changed everything.

If the most “pure” person asked God, Do you love me? He would say yes.

If a woman who had an abortion asked God, Do you love me? God would say yes.

If a gay person turned to God and asked, Am I loved? God would say, Of course, my child.

If a criminal rejected evil, fell to their knees, and whispered, I don’t deserve You, but do You love me? God would say, I’ve been waiting for you.

If God can do all of this, and more, then who are we, as Catholics, to say otherwise? What does it mean to say, God may love you, but I don’t? If that isn’t hatred, then what is?

We are called to sit at tables with the marginalized. We are told to give our jackets to our neighbors when they are cold. We are commanded to love, to serve, to give thanks. We all burn the same. Love has no competition. Humans have tried to compete for love for centuries, only to discover you cannot compete for something that is freely given. You cannot earn more of it. You cannot hoard it.

I read the Bible and you don’t. God, do You love me more than them? And God replies, I love you the same.

Maybe that truth unsettles people who believe they are more righteous than others. Maybe it threatens those who want to feel chosen, elevated, superior. Maybe love has been turned into a currency, a form of power, a way to control behavior and loyalty. I don’t know.

But I do know this: God loves me just as much as He loves you. Just as much as anyone at all. We are all loved equally whether we accept it, reject it, or try to deny it.

And after all this reflection, I believe this with my whole heart: if you think Trumps America is a reflection of goodness; if you stand with ICE over mercy; if you choose violence over compassion; if you spend your time shaming women, harming people with differences, or stripping love from marginalized communities then you are not protecting God’s light. You are trying to blow out candles in His kingdom instead of lighting more.

And maybe it’s time to ask yourself whose side are you really on? Because if God loves everyone, why can’t you?