Meditation for the Day

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter, May 6

May We Always Live Our Relationship with Our Lord by Embracing and Living His Truth; for, in This Way, We Shall Truly Remain in His Love.

Jesus says to you and me today, “Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love…”

As of this writing, the daily meditations reach out to a wide diversity of peoples and cultures throughout the world in over 180 countries, in essence partially fulfilling the command our Lord had given us, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

And within the diversity of cultures which the Good News of Jesus Christ is preached, the dogma of God’s Truth is ever constant and never changing, for we are reminded in the Letter to the Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

It is only when one seriously reflects upon the Commandments which God has given us that we begin to realize that they are much more than just a set of rules and restrictions governing one’s conduct in life. They are, in essence, a moral code based upon love – love of God and love of neighbor, a code which guides each of us into living a right relationship with the God who has created each of us out of Divine Love.

And when we embrace this moral code as our own, God rewards us with the gift of living with Him in His Kingdom for all eternity.

“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love…”

Being one with God, being united in His Love, is the central theme we find presented in our Readings for today.

In our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find Simon Peter and James giving testimony during the Council of Jerusalem in favor of including the Gentile peoples into the Christian community, without imposing upon them undue burdens or hardships from certain unfair elements of the Mosaic Law.

We also find within Peter’s testimony, in his support of Paul, a statement regarding the fundamental meaning of the Gospel: that all are invited to be saved through faith in the power of Christ, for he states, “…we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.” – his statement referring to the Gentile communities.

Just as we hear of the Gentiles beginning to develop their relationship with God, Jesus continues to explain, in our Gospel Reading today, the intimate union, the close relationship which He is asking of His disciples – and all of us as well – to live with Him in our daily lives.

Jesus started this discourse in yesterday’s Reading with the analogy that He is the Vine and we are the branches. Today, He talks about love, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.”

But our union with Jesus’ Love does have a qualification, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” Sadly, however, there are many in today’s society who do not look to God’s Truth as revealed in Sacred Scripture. Rather, they look to themselves where they live a moral and theological relativism – the idea that truth is relative; in other words, whatever they want truth to be, it is.

And we find this way of thinking in most governments throughout the world, in which laws are enacted which reject the Natural Law established by God, or we find publicized opinions from leaders which can influence immoral and unnatural laws of the land.

As a result, man creates his own laws, his own code of morality and ethics which deeply offends the will of God – whether that code involves re-writing the nature of marriage, ignoring the sanctity of life both in the womb and in old age, chemical or artificial contraception inhibiting the creation of life, and the list of relativistic truth sadly continues!

The creation of laws rejecting what is holy and sacred for the sake of personal convenience or moral selfishness, or due to one’s personal rejection of God’s Law, speaks to the God-fearing Christian of a cultural or governmental system which has become morally bankrupt and certain actions which are intrinsically evil. Yet, Scripture teaches us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.”

Our Christian way of life, God’s Truth which we hold most dear, should always be at the very core of our being, the very heart of yours and my way of life, if we wish to remain in God’s Love. Is it always going to be easy? No, of course not! We’re human beings, with our own inadequacies and limitations!

But as God has revealed to us, His Mercy is limitless, if only we come to him with a truly humbled and contrite heart, and we actively seek His merciful forgiveness and His will in our daily lives.

The last verse in today’s Gospel Reading reinforces that for which we yearn, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

Our Lord is telling both you and me that by living His Commandments and placing Him and His Word first in our lives, we will experience true joy. For joy is the byproduct of a life lived in works of love for God and our neighbor, and a life filled with a self-sacrificing generosity.

The lasting joy which each of us ultimately seeks, however, is the eternal joy, the eternal happiness with the God who loves each of us with such a profound intimacy, inviting each of us to be one with Him forever.

Jesus says to you and me today, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.”

May we always live our relationship with our Lord by embracing and living His Truth; for, in this way, we shall truly remain in His Love, and He will truly remain within us for all eternity. †

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Please Comment, Like and Share, and Suggest to your Facebook friends – to spread the message of God’s Merciful Love.

Por favor Comente, Le Gusta y Comparta, y Sugiera a tus amigos en Facebook – en difundir el mensaje del Misericordioso Amor de Dios.

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Scripture for the Day

• “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
• “[Jesus] said to them, ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.’” (Mark 16:15)
• “On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as [the Gentiles].” (Acts 15:11)
• “Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.” (Romans 3:29-30)
• “Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ…” (Philippians 1:27a)
• “…each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived…” (James 1:14-16a)
• “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.” (Hebrews 13:8-9a)
• “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.” (John 15:9-10)
• “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

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Prayer for the Day

“Our Eternal and Most Loving Father in Heaven,
may everything I do begin with Your inspiration,
continue with Your saving help,
and reach perfection under Your guidance.

“With Your loving care, guide me in my daily actions,
and help me to persevere with love and sincerity.
Teach me to judge wisely the things of Earth
and to always love the things of Heaven.

“Keep me in Your Presence always
and never let me be separated from You.
Your Spirit instilled in my heart that I am Your child,
and I am confident to call You my Father.

“Make Your Love and Mercy the foundation of my life;
teach me to long for Heaven as my Eternal Home.
May its promise and hope guide my way on Earth
until I finally reach eternal life with You. Amen.”

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