{"podcast":{"title":"Catholic Daily Reflections","slug":"catholic-daily-reflections-334651","podcast_index_feed_id":334651,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/3075404/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/7b39fdb7e7c686686759baf76d12f617.jpg","author":"My Catholic Life!","episode_count":1000,"summary":"My Catholic Life! presents the beauty and splendor of our Catholic faith in a down to earth and practical way. These daily audio reflections come from the \"Catholic Daily Reflections Series\" which is available in online format from our website. They are also available in e eBook or paperback format. May these reflections assist you on your journey of personal conversion!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-17T20:17:29.195880+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651"},"episode":{"title":"Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter - Obedience—the Gateway to Intimate Love","slug":"monday-of-the-fifth-week-of-easter-obedience-the-gateway-to-intimate-love","published_at":"2026-05-03T09:00:22+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651/monday-of-the-fifth-week-of-easter-obedience-the-gateway-to-intimate-love","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/monday-of-the-fifth-week-of-easter-obedience-the-gateway-to-intimate-love--71234400","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71234400/monday_of_the_fifth_week_of_easter_obedience_the_gateway_to_intimate_love_2.mp3","summary":"Read Online Obedience—the Gateway to Intimate Love Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” John 14:21 Most people would not think of “love” as obedience to commandments. Yet, that is precisely how Jesus defines it. To understand the truthfulness of His teaching, we must first consider the nature of love. Saint Thomas Aquinas defines love as both an emotion and an action. As an emotion, it is part of our human nature and is the first response of the concupiscible appetite to a good perceived as desirable. This natural love is directed toward goods apprehended through the senses, such as food, people, or enjoyable activities. Since love as an emotion pertains to the sensory appetite and is tied to physical or sensible goods, it plays an essential role in the human experience. However, it’s important to note that just because a good is perceived as desirable does not mean it is truly good for us or in accord with God’s perfect will. The love that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel, however, far transcends natural love. While it does involve desire and emotion when perfected, it is ultimately charity—a supernatural, spiritual love flowing from our union with Him. Charity, infused by grace, elevates love to a higher, rational act of the will, seeking the good of another for the other’s sake and fulfilling God’s commandments as an expression of that love. This distinction invites us to examine the type of love we have toward God and others. If our love for God is purely emotional, it will be dictated by superficial and sometimes misguided desires. When we feel consolation on an emotional level, we might respond with an emotio…","meta_description":"Read Online Obedience—the Gateway to Intimate Love Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Wh…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":475,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/catholic-daily-reflections-334651/episodes/monday-of-the-fifth-week-of-easter-obedience-the-gateway-to-intimate-love/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catholic-daily-reflections-334651/monday-of-the-fifth-week-of-easter-obedience-the-gateway-to-intimate-love.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}