Meditation for the Day

Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 9

May the Life of Faith Which We Profess and the Selfless Love Which We Exhibit in Our Day-to-Day Activities Speak to the Reality of Who We Are and to Whom We Belong.

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” – words which our Lord speaks to both you and me in today’s Gospel.

Each one of us, from the moment that we are baptized into our Christian faith, is called by God to die to sin and to live in Christ Jesus. As infants, we begin the process of learning to love and trust in those who love and care for us.

And as we begin our journey through life, our faith grows with us, and we become aware, at some point in our faith development, that there is a God who loves each one of us beyond all measure of human understanding or description – a Divine Love who guides each one of us on a journey of learning to love and trust in the One who created us.

And we begin to slowly realize that our God is One who is full of mercy, a Lord who is full of loving compassion for His children. And you and I, as brothers and sisters in Christ, each of us sons and daughters of the Eternal Father, are called to live this same quality of love for one another.

However, we know only too well that being Christian and living our lives with the virtue of selfless love in today’s world is not easy, for we live in a world and in a culture which is consumed with self-seeking desires, greed and all forms of secular pleasure. We live in a society where the concept of love is sadly, in many cases, one of selfish gain rather than selfless generosity!

Yet, we are still called to love if we say we know God, for as we read in the First Letter of John, “…let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.”

No matter what our individual choices in life may be, no matter what vocation we may have chosen to follow – whether bricklayer or plumber, lawyer or doctor, stay-at-home mom or dad, cleric or layperson – with the help of God’s grace, each of us is called to respond to the command to love as Christ loves us!

When we open our hearts to become all that our Lord needs us to be, then we truly become the extension of His heart and His voice, the extension of His hands and His feet for the well-being of our brothers and sisters. Then we truly become, as Christ calls us in today’s Gospel, “friends”.

“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

In fulfilling our lives as a faithful Christian people, our Lord breathes upon each of us His Holy Spirit, just as He did for the Gentiles in our First Reading, so that you and I may be strengthened to fulfill our calling of discipleship, our becoming faithful witnesses to Christ Jesus in our daily lives.

And it is our Most Loving Father who NEEDS us to stand strong in a world which so greatly offends His Love!

When you and I reflect upon the indescribable love which God has for us and all that God has given us – the gift of life, the gift of our faith, the gift of the Church and the Sacraments, the gift of family and friends, the gift of God’s invitation to each one of us to spend our eternity with Him – we can only repeat, over and over again, the praise which today’s psalmist proclaims in our Responsorial, “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds.”

As I had mentioned in a previous meditation, being loved by God – being called His friend – is such an awe-inspiring gift. And to be able to live this gift and share it with others whom God places in our lives, makes each of us adopted sons and daughters of God Himself.

Our Lord speaks to us today, “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…”

To remain in His Love – to keep His commandments – means that you and I share in a very intimate relationship with our Savior. For it is a relationship to which you and I have been called to live and embrace daily – remembering our Lord’s words to us in today’s Gospel, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”

May the life of faith which we profess and live each day bring joy to our Savior’s Heart. May the selfless love which we exhibit in our day-to-day activities speak to the reality that we are truly “…begotten by God.”

Then, the lyrics to a popular Christian hymn will speak of who we are and to Whom we belong – “They will know that we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yeah, they will know that we are Christians by our love.”

May God bless you, God love you, and may God always keep you. †

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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

• “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
• “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…” (John 15:9-10a)
• “You are my friends if you do what I command you…I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:14, 15b)
• “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12)
• “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.” (John 15:16)
• “Sing a new song to the LORD, for he has done marvelous deeds.” (Psalm 98:1a)
• “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
• “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
• “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:34, 40b)

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Prayer for the Day

“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored.

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

“We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

“We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride.

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

“All praise to the Father from whom all good things come;
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His Only Son;
And all praise to the Spirit who makes us one.

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Lyrics by Peter Scholtes