Remain in my love.These words of Christ as recorded in today's Gospel from St. John serve as the single most important words of advice to us that trancend generations. This seemingly simple command proves to be the most challenging aspect of living a Christian life -- to love one another, keeping in mind all the things St. Paul teaches us about what love is. Not only do these words guide us as how to treat one another, but also to remain with God. After all, God is love itself; to remain in love is to remain in Him. And so, with this simple phrase, Jesus summarizes the two greatest commandments: to love God and to love one another for love of God.
I have told this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.
Only in following Christ's command to remain in His love will we ever find the happiness we are all searching for. No joy or satisfaction of this world will make our hearts complete; only Him.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
And here, I am drawn to think of this phrase from a vocation viewpoint. What greater love is there than to lay down your life for your vocation? To give yourself totally to your spouse and your children in marriage? To give your entire life to God in service of His people in the priesthood or consecrated life? Ultimately, no matter what our vocation, we are called to live up to this kind of love, to lay our lives down so that others might have life; to live our lives in total service to Christ through our vocation so that others might also come to know Truth itself--Jesus Christ.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.
To think--Christ calls US! He calls us, poor and sinful, to be consumed in His Mercy and to live out our lives to tell the world of His Truth. And Jesus tells us not just to live the gospel, but also to bear fruit! What a challenge in the society we live in today. But doesn't it make life worth living?
This I command you: love one another.
Just live it!
"We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more."
~Saint Joseph Cafasso
1 comment:
This reminds me of the skit y'all did on retreat when at the end you said, "And look, I have produced fruit!" as you pulled tangerines out of your pockets. That was great times.
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