By Msgr. Charles Pope - being loving is not the same as being kind. Love should not be reduced to mere kindness, but our reductionist culture has tended to do so… Kindness generally seeks to alleviate suffering and negativity, but love understands that suffering often has a salvific role. My parents disciplined me out of love. Had they been merely kind to me, I would likely have been spoiled, undisciplined, and ill-prepared for life.