The love of God is called the soul of morality because: (1) God is love, and (2) in God’s plan that love reaches out to men in Jesus Christ, so that men might be united by their love for God and for one another.

1. The love of God is called the soul of morality because God is love.

God loves us. He always has and always will love us. He has loved us from the moment He thought of creating us and will love us for all eternity. St. John tells us of the depth of God’s love for each person. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Because God loves each of us with an undying, deep love, St. John goes so far as to call God “love” or “charity.” “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

God watches over us every moment of our lives. Every beat of our hearts depends on Him. He gave us every good thing in life which we have: our life, our health, our family and friends, and our possessions. In Baptism, God made us His children and promised to grant us eternal life with Him in Heaven, if we remain faithful to Him.

He gives us the privilege of sharing His divine life by giving us sanctifying grace through the sacraments. He continues to grant us the blessings of the Catholic Church, especially through the sacraments and God’s truth. Because of His immense love for us, God forgives our sins if we are repentant. Jesus said, “For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father” (John 16:27).

Whenever we think of God’s great love for us, we should desire to love Him in return. Our one aim in life should be union with God–through a love which expresses itself in faithful service. Our lives should be joyous since God is with us.

2. The love of God is called the soul of morality because in God’s plan that love reaches out to men in Jesus Christ, so that men might be united by their love for God and for one another.

Jesus Christ, in His perfect love for us, died on the Cross to atone for, or make up for, our sins and to regain for us the life of grace and eternal life with God. Jesus is our Mediator with God the Father. God’s love comes to us through Jesus Christ, the God-man.

Jesus and His Father sent God the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the Apostles. The Holy Spirit, Who is the love of God in the Trinity, is God’s supreme gift to the Church. The great work of the Spirit is to unite men into a community of love.

The Holy Spirit’s chief gift is His personal presence in those who believe in and follow Jesus. Through His personal presence and His gift of sanctifying grace, the Holy Spirit makes us pleasing to God and sets us apart for Him. Through sanctifying grace, He makes us children in God’s family and unites us in faith and love to Christ and to each other. As a community of believers, we become heirs of God’s Kingdom. This is God’s loving plan for us.

All of Christianity is based on love, i.e., charity, or unselfish love. Man is created to love, grows by loving, and finally, finds himself by loving. St. Paul said: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).