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.
The Mass intention is for Vigil Mass OL Mary Anne Scanlon RIP HC Jack B’s Intentions and OL Patrick Joseph Marley RIP.
Reflection:
Through Baptism, we have a new life. That is why St Paul writes: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands us to love one another. St John, in today’s Second Reading, reiterates the Lord’s commandment and explains that “God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world His only Son so that we could have life through Him…the sacrifice that takes our sins away.” (1 John 4:9-10).
Lest we forget, the love we share with others must be patterned after the love of Jesus. To love one another just as Jesus loves us means to love unconditionally, “to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and ask not for reward”. Jesus showed us the way when He welcomed everyone – sinners and saints alike – in His company, when He cured the sick, when He fed the crowd, when He defended the nobodies in society. Ultimately, He offered His life on the cross. Indeed, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” May others recognise the Risen Lord in the way we love one another.
- How do you mirror Jesus’ love for His disciples?
- How far will you go to love others?
- How do you allow Jesus to live in you?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Filled with Easter gladness, help us to keep the new commandment You gave us, to love one another as You have loved us. Amen.
(Pietro)
