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SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)
God. God is. God is LOVE!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, “Love is the soul of the holiness to which all are called, it governs, shapes and perfects all the means of sanctification.” -C.C.C.).
”If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest
of all members ; it must have a HEART – and a Heart Burning with Love.” This
love alone is the true motive and source that enables members of the Church to act; if it
ceased to function the Apostles would forget to preach the Gospel, the Martyrs would
refuse to shed their blood. LOVE, in fact is the vocation which includes all others;
it’s a universe of its own, comprising all time and space – it’s Eternal!” (again C.C.C.).
Again, God is LOVE.
Today’s Reading from 1 John – reminds us that we are to love one another, because
love is of God. One who loves is begotten by God and knows God. We learned of the
love of God when it was revealed – when God sent his only Son into the world –
that we might have life through him. We do not first love God, but he first loved us
and sent his Son to redeem us from our sins.
The night before he died Jesus told his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” And again: “This I command you; love one another”
WHY is the commandment to love one another a ‘commandment’? Could it not have been simply a suggestion, a recommendation, an invitation? Why not? Because it is –
vital to the life and joy the Holy Trinity desires us to share in. It is the Way, the only
way; our one source of well-being in the Divine Plan. The option – virtual reality! Our
God is the Way, the Truth and the Life. All else in infinitely less.
So, what if we believe we love God with our whole heart and soul but lack the love of
neighbor? What would be the eternal result? Of what would one’s eternity consist?
By obeying the Lord’s commandment to love our neighbor also, we remain in that love and thereby experience the love and joy of the Lord.
Often, the unimaginably profound words of Jesus as found in John’s writings are taken far too lightly and we remain unchanged.
We would do well, from time to time, to ask ourselves the same question Jesus asked Philip just before they left for Gethsemani: “Have I been with you so long a time and still you do not know me?” Now, Philip had been with the Lord just three years at the most, for some of us here our knowledge of Jesus has been considerably longer!
The commandment to love includes our neighbor.The six billion unbaptized persons in the world today are our neighbors! As faithful, loving members of the Church, the Body of Christ in the world, may our lives be fruitful and benefit all in the world, especially those who have not yet received the Holy Spirit, that they too may participate in the very Life of God, the Eternal Love of the Triune God.
“This I command you, love one another!”
(Acts: 10;25-26, 34-35, 44-48, 1 John: 4: 7-10, John 15; 5-9-17) Fr Alan