--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 'commandment' of love is only…" description: "\"“The 'commandment' of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be 'commanded' because it has first been given.”\" — Pope Be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzi_commandment_the-commandment-of-love-is-only-possible_2076344.jpg" --- # The 'commandment' of love is only possible because it is… ![“The 'commandment' of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be 'commanded' because it has first been given.” quote by Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzi_commandment_the-commandment-of-love-is-only-possible_2076344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzi_commandment_the-commandment-of-love-is-only-possible_2076344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzi_commandment_the-commandment-of-love-is-only-possible_2076344.jpg) > ““The 'commandment' of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be 'commanded' because it has first been given.”” Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love transcends duty; it becomes a command when freely given, turning obligation into willing devotion. **In simple terms:** Love is a command when given freely. Key Takeaway Give love freely to transform duty into devotion. Themes love freedom obedience spirituality Mood thoughtful serene inspirational Type theological ethical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - volunteer work - spiritual retreats - parenting Key Concepts theology ethics gift theory Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes a loving command from coercion? - How can we ensure love remains a gift? A Different Perspective Love can become oppressive if misinterpreted as control rather than gift. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commandment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandment/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Love is a gift, a miracle, a mystery. You are led to its threshold by your affinities, by your inclinations, and by the yearnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-green/love-is-a-gift-a-miracle-a-mystery-you-are-led-to-its-threshold-by/) [Glenda Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-green/) > [ “The commandment, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself', is the strongest defence against human aggressiveness and an excellent example of the unpsychological \[expectations\] of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-commandment-love-thy-neighbour-as-thyself-is-the-strongest/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-my-commandment-that-you-love-one-another-just-as-i-have-loved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-your-neighbor-you-will-fulfill-the-requirements-of-god-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Victories are gained through battles. This is the essence of the commandment love your enemy. There is no real enemy, for even the darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/victories-are-gained-through-battles-this-is-the-essence-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants we read that 'the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-petersen/in-the-first-section-of-the-doctrine-and-covenants-we-read-that-the/) [Mark E. Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-e-petersen/) > [“Jesus taught that "the great and first commandment is to love God completely, totally, and unreservedly -- with all one's heart, with all one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-strauch/jesus-taught-that-the-great-and-first-commandment-is-to-love-god/) [Alexander Strauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-strauch/) > [Love, in the words of the Master, is the shining commandment: LOVE ONE ANOTHER.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/love-in-the-words-of-the-master-is-the-shining-commandment-love-one/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [“TWO STANDARDS On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. (MATTHEW 22:40) Have you thought about what it means to "love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/two-standards-on-these-two-commandments-depend-all-the-law-and-the/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [To love is a commandment but to be in love is a thing of the heart. you could love a thousand people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-acho/to-love-is-a-commandment-but-to-be-in-love-is-a-thing-of-the-heart/) Laurie Acho > [“He said, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” And how had he loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harrison/he-said-a-new-commandment-i-give-you-that-you-love-one-another-even/) [Nick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harrison/) > [“new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35†“By this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/new-commandment-i-give-to-you-that-you-love-one-another-as-i-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Moving from teaching university students to living with mentally handicapped people was, for me at least, a step toward the platform where the father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/moving-from-teaching-university-students-to-living-with-mentally/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [Fr. Amphilochios, the geronta or elder on the island of Patmos when I first stayed there, would have been in full agreement. Do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/fr-amphilochios-the-geronta-or-elder-on-the-island-of-patmos-when-i/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [Do not disdain the commandment to love, for through it you become a son of God, and when you break it, you become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/do-not-disdain-the-commandment-to-love-for-through-it-you-become-a/) [Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/) ## More by Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger > [“Faith, hope and charity go together. Hope is practised through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzinger/faith-hope-and-charity-go-together-hope-is-practised-through-the/) Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger > [“The great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi-joseph-ratzinger/the-great-question-that-will-be-with-us-throughout-this-entire-book/) Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger Explore all 3 Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger quotes ## More Commandment quotes > [“Eve is a figure for the soul that each human should love. The commandment to be fruitful and multiply did not originally refer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/eve-is-a-figure-for-the-soul-that-each-human-should-love-the/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [“The leader’s commandment is made up of pledges to solve local and global problems, and not to create more problems to add to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-leader-s-commandment-is-made-up-of-pledges-to-solve-local-and/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Here is your government at work. A congressman from Colorado said he wants to draft a rule that would make it unethical to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/here-is-your-government-at-work-a-congressman-from-colorado-said-he/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“I had broken the most basic commandment of our culture: Thou shalt pretend there is nothing wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/i-had-broken-the-most-basic-commandment-of-our-culture-thou-shalt/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-morell/but-take-diligent-heed-to-do-the-commandment-and-the-law-which-moses/) Thomas Morell > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The second commandment that Jesus referred to was not to love others instead of ourselves, but to love them as ourselves. Before we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-warner/the-second-commandment-that-jesus-referred-to-was-not-to-love-others/) Jim Warner > [“The eleventh commandment of art: thou shalt not be boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-m-driscoll/the-eleventh-commandment-of-art-thou-shalt-not-be-boring/) [W.M. Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-m-driscoll/) > [“128. Matthew 22:36-37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-jackson/128-matthew-22-36-37-love-the-lord-your-god-with-all-your-heart-and/) Lois Jackson > [Righteous marriage is a commandment and an essential step in the process of creating a loving family relationship that can be perpetuated beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/righteous-marriage-is-a-commandment-and-an-essential-step-in-the/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [“It is highly significant, perplexing to say the least, that we have been bound for thousands of years to a commandment that hardly anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/it-is-highly-significant-perplexing-to-say-the-least-that-we-have/) [Alice MIller, The Drama of the gifted child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/) > [Loving your neighbour as much as yourself is practically bloody impossible? You might as well have a commandment that states,'Thou shalt fly'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/loving-your-neighbour-as-much-as-yourself-is-practically-bloody/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [Now we must remark, that there are two parts in the Commandment-the first forbids the erection of a graven image, or any likeness; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/now-we-must-remark-that-there-are-two-parts-in-the-commandment-the/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Your very eyes. How they have always been for me the command to obey, the inviolable and beautiful commandment. No, no, I'm not telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/your-very-eyes-how-they-have-always-been-for-me-the-command-to-obey/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Superficially, the Fourth Commandment can be regarded as a kind of life insurance for old people, which was perhaps necessary in biblical times but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/superficially-the-fourth-commandment-can-be-regarded-as-a-kind-of/) [Alice MIller, The Drama of the gifted child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller-the-drama-of-the-gifted-child/) [Browse all 211 Commandment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The 'commandment' of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. 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