Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 15: 9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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What a beautiful time of year. The flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and the weather is warming. With the dark days of winter behind us, you might say, “Love is in the air!” 

Yes, we’ve officially entered wedding season. Over the next few months, I’ll be celebrating over a dozen weddings. What a joyful time to be a priest!

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When preparing couples for marriage, I always ask them, “What is love?”

You’re promising to love one another all the days of your life, so what is it? What is love? How would you define it?

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Sometimes they struggle to form an answer.

Love can be hard to define. We feel it; we give it; we receive it. But what is it?

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Here are a few examples I’ve heard from engaged couples:

Love is calling you everyday on my way to work just to say you’re on my mind.

Love is asking about your day before telling you about mine.

Love is eating healthier so I can live with you longer.

Love is learning how to listen.

Love is the effort it takes to merge our families into one.

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On this Mother’s Day, I’m sure every mom and dad could add a thousand other examples.

Love is coaching your children through their soccer games; sitting by their side while learning online; holding them tight after their first heartbreak; providing a safe and loving home; doing the dishes and the laundry day after day, year after year.

Love is watching your children go off to college; it’s supporting their dreams, even when they’re different from your own; it’s the pride you feel when you see them succeed, starting a career or a family of their own.

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What else might you add? What is love?

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In the Gospels, Jesus says, “There is no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

Love is an action. It’s something we do all the time.

It’s also something Jesus does when he lays down his life on the Cross. While we can never match his ultimate sacrifice, the Lord encourages us today to continue following his example, laying down our lives in the smallest of ways.

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Apart from loving our closest family and friends, we’re also commanded to feed the hungry, to comfort the bereaved, to care for the sick, to visit the lonely, and to defend the defenseless.

Where can we do such things? 

Right here in our parish.

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For example, many of you took our most recent parish survey. Allow me challenge you a little more.

It’s easy to say what we want: a hospitality ministry, a vibrant youth group, a family Mass, a bereavement ministry, an active soup kitchen.

But we have to dig a little deeper to say, “I’ll lay down my time and talent to help make this happen. I’ll be a server, a lector, a Eucharistic Minister. I’ll show up every Sunday. I’ll stand at the door and greet.”

Love is an action – and, at times, a sacrifice. 

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Why should we do these things? If love is a sacrifice, then why love at all?

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Maybe you’ve heard me use this line before. In Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet, a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you the more I seem to have.”

That’s the secret of love. The more we give, the more we have.

It’s true in marriage, it’s true in parenting, and it’s true in our spiritual lives. The more we give to God, to our neighbor, and to our parish, the happier we become.

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So, in what ways might we lay down our lives and love one another this week?

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Image credits: (1) Ivan Guaderrama, The Patience of Love (2) Healing Refuge Fellowship (3) www.staidansbenton.yolasite.com (4) South Bay Bible Church

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Gospel: John 15: 12-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“I no longer call you slaves…but friends.”

Jesus was very particular about his choice of words; each was worth its weight in gold. 

So why does he call us friends? 

Why not servants? Acquaintances? Buddies?

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The word “friend” had a very particular meaning. 

During Jesus’ time, Roman emperors named a select few, “friends of the emperor.”

These “friends” had unlimited access to him; they could even enter his bedchamber before sunrise. They were closer to him than his servants, his advisors, and his generals.

The king’s friends formed his inner circle; they had access to his heart.

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This is the friendship Jesus offers us. It’s why he tells us not to be “troubled,” a chapter before. We are his intimate companions.

Simply call upon his name; he will listen, and, in his time, he will act. 

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Image credits: (1) St. Mary and St. George Coptic Church, Tallahassee, FLA (2) Chaim Bentorah (3) Victoria Atkinson White: Jesus Calls us to Friendship

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Acts 15: 7-21

After much debate had taken place,
Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,
“My brothers, you are well aware that from early days
God made his choice among you that through my mouth
the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit
just as he did us.
He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”
The whole assembly fell silent,
and they listened
while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders
God had worked among the Gentiles through them.

After they had fallen silent, James responded,
“My brothers, listen to me.
Symeon has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:

    After this I shall return
        and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
    from its ruins I shall rebuild it
        and raise it up again,
    so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
        even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
    Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
        known from of old.

It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols,
unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
For Moses, for generations now,
has had those who proclaim him in every town,
as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”

The Word of the Lord.

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Families can argue about the most ordinary things.

Growing up, my brother and I argued over whose turn it was to sit in the front seat of the car; what we wanted for dinner; whether or not I could wear his clothes; or whether or not his friends could also be mine.

Parents can argue over how to raise their children, where to go on vacation, how much money to spend on a home, how to best communicate, and so on.

What arguments arise in your family?

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Debate also happens within the Church. Jesus didn’t leave us a “how to” manual for every problem or an answer to every question. Instead, he gives us his Holy Spirit, who leads us to the Truth.

The Acts of the Apostles describes how the early Church discerned answers to significant questions together.

In today’s reading, for example, the question arises: must Gentile converts follow Jewish practices? Or is following Christ alone enough? How exactly is one saved?

The Apostles discerned the answers to their questions in three ways: they prayed together, they fasted, and they broke bread, meaning they celebrating Eucharist.

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What if we applied the same practices to our own friendships and families? 

When conflict arises, pray together – ask for wisdom and humility, fast, then break bread together at Mass. If the first Christians found God working in these ways, certainly the Lord can still do so today.

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Image credits: (1) Family Drama by Elchicoctriste, (2) Hillsong Church Watch (3) A Family That Prays Together Stays Together, Frost Resources