In my book, I explore the profound reality that love is composed of four pillars: Truth, Justice, Mercy, and Sacrifice. For a long time, I described the “sacrifice” part as simply the way that we enact truth, justice, and mercy. But recently, a deeper realization struck me: sacrifice is not just the method; it is the very engine of love.
This engine is on full display in the Catholic faith, where we recognize that true worship requires sacrifice. This is precisely why the Mass is the highest form of worship. In the Mass, we don’t just remember what Christ did—we actively participate in His perfect sacrifice. As St. Paul reminds us, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). The Eucharist is the sacrifice of the cross made present to us. As the Catechism beautifully reminds us, “The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering” (CCC 1368). Our daily sacrifices are the raw material we bring to the altar.
If we recognize that there is no worship without sacrifice, we must also recognize a harder truth: without sacrifice, there is no love.
The Engine of Love
Our daily sacrifices become the crucial key to understanding the love of God and becoming active agents of His love in the world. Christ made this an absolute requirement for His disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). When we sacrifice, we are not just giving something up; we are emptying ourselves.
Practices like a daily holy hour of prayer or fasting from things that draw us away from God—these are not arbitrary rules. They are the ways we stay grounded in the love of our Lord. By sacrificing our attachments to comfort, food, or time, we purposely and voluntarily push out the distractions of the world so that the love of God can rush in. As St. Augustine famously taught, “God gives where He finds empty hands.”
This self-emptying (kenosis) allows God to pour out His love upon us. And once we are filled with that divine love, we are then equipped to pour it out to others in the form of truth, justice, and mercy.
The Heart of the Sacraments
This rhythm of sacrifice is what the ancient tradition of the Church has always drawn us toward. St. Peter calls us “living stones” built into a spiritual house, a “holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). It is the beating heart of every Sacrament and devotion.
It is what daily reception of Holy Communion is about—receiving Christ’s ultimate sacrifice to fuel our own. It is what regular Confession is about—sacrificing our pride and self-sufficiency to receive His healing mercy. It is what Adoration and the Rosary are about—sacrificing our precious time and wandering thoughts to simply be present with Him. It is what fasting is about—sacrificing physical desires to make room for a deeper spiritual desire.
All of these practices are spiritual training. They help us to see how vital sacrifice is. They train our will to choose God over ourselves, over and over again, allowing us to “continually offer God a sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). They build the spiritual stamina we need so that when the world needs truth, justice, or mercy we have the strength from our Lord to offer it.
St. Paul urges us “by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). Without sacrifice, justice becomes rigid, mercy becomes cheap, and truth becomes a weapon. But when they are fueled by the daily cross, they become acts of true, life-giving love.
The Beautiful Invitation
From the outside looking in, it is incredibly easy to view the Catholic faith as a heavy list of rules, obligations, and burdens. But when we understand this deep connection between love, sacrifice, truth, justice, and mercy, the whole picture changes. These profound realities are palpable and evident in everything the Church teaches, if we simply know where to look.
We sacrifice not out of mere obligation, but because “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we humbly, voluntarily, and sacrificially offer ourselves to God as an expression of our love for Him—because He is love—the cross ceases to be a burden. Instead, it becomes the very means by which we experience a deeper, more intimate bond with our Creator every single day. The Catholic faith, in all its Sacraments and devotions, is not a weight to be carried, but a beautiful invitation into the life-giving, self-emptying, and world-transforming love of God.