Candles, stringed lights, and warm smiles brightened the room Thursday, February 13th, the night before Valentine's Day, as eighty young adults gathered at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Whitehall for a talk by Father Keaton Eidle, Assistant Pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton, on the book "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis.
Zelenda Hodgskin, Diocesan Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry, and the Commission for Young Adults worked together to provide a night of food, connection, and conversation at a time when the secular world tries to explain what love means, but often falls short.
The word "love" is very limited yet too expansive in its use within the English language. In Greek, there are four different words to refer to love: romantic love (eros), affection (storge), friendship (philia), and charity (agape).
In the English language, especially if you are referring to love, "we often say one thing, but that [same word] could [refer to] 18 different things," indicated Father Eidle.
"So, if I say to you 'I love something,' that could be anywhere from my love for potato chips to my love for my spouse, which is very clearly two radically different things. My love for potato chips should not be anywhere near my love for my spouse, the Church, or, in your case, your [marital] spouses."
"As a result, there's a sort of lack of clarity [in our words] that can also fuel some of the arguments we hear in our society that go against and misinform us about what love really is."
Drawing on the work of C.S. Lewis, Father Eidle emphasized how the four types of love "exist side by side" and "help one another flourish."
He gave the example, "It's not like if someone has eros love for someone, they cannot also have friendship. Or if someone has affection, they cannot also be friends with someone."
Jean Gabat, a parishioner at St. Jane, shared that what stood out to her most from Father Eidle’s talk was his statement, "When you give your natural love to God, He transforms it into the divine."
Gabat attended with her boyfriend, Matthew Chajnacki, and together they elaborated on how, by striving “to live a spiritual life together,” God has elevated the types of love they show each other and others.
Another couple, Bernadette Lloyd and Michael Adams, have read several of C.S. Lewis’s works, and were excited to get to hear Father Eidle talk.
Adams explained, "I really enjoyed Father Eidle’s interpretation of C.S. Lewis.”
"I also love how C.S. Lewis is so easy to understand. A book like this is not fiction, but it reads very easily. So [the talk] was a good foundation for someone who wants to read the book."
In addition to hearing the talk, they also sought out Father Eidle after the event for a blessing of their engagement ring.
A young adult book club on “The Four Loves” by C.S. Lewis will meet on March 29, April 26, May 10, and June 7, both in-person at the Parkland Community Library, 4422 Walbert Avenue, Allentown, PA 18104, and via zoom.
To sign up for the book club, contact Zelenda Hodgskin, [email protected] or visit https://allentowndiocese.flocknote.com/signup/197175.
