In this weekend’s gospel Jesus and His apostles are in Jerusalem in the Upper Room, known as the Cenacle and which the Catholic Encyclopedia describes as the “first Christian Church.” This reading comes from what is known as the Last Discourse, a sort-of-after-dinner- speech at the Last Supper. Biblical scholars see this not as a word-for-word description of what Jesus said but rather it is a threading together from various sources of what He taught. In this brief Gospel, Jesus gives us a new command: “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.” (JN)
To get through this Gospel we need to correctly understand Jesus’ meaning of “Love.” Is it a feeling, an emotion? Is it chemistry? Is it a deep, very deep “like?” Today we see love manifested in those ideals. But in Christian theology, Love desires of us to want the absolute best, the excellence, for another. And what is the “absolute” best thing we can desire for another? What is the excellence that each and every one of us should seek—and hope for—for others? The Catholic theological
answer: Eternal happiness with Jesus in heaven.
How do we then go about developing that particular kind of love? We must look to the source, the summit and font of love: Jesus Christ and how he lived it in His earthly life. He is, after all, the exemplar par excellence. Jesus showed this love in the way He cared for the sick, comforted the lonely, educated with Truth the ignorant, and how He fed the hungry—how He lifted the lowly from their squalor and raised them to His Father’s Dignity.
This is difficult to say the least. We are expected by Christ to empty ourselves and be of service to others. How can one be expected to do this when we work fulltime jobs, care for our children and spouses, perhaps look after our aging parents, or even squeeze this into all our scheduled events on our weekly calendars?! No can do, right?
Certainly, Christ does not expect every one of us to do everything. Nor should we expect this ourselves. But what is expected of us is that we prioritize things in our lives with the vision of what we hope to accomplish at the end of our earthly life: eternal life with God or not. And then, with the gifts and talents we possess, we should choose what we can do and actually do it. This past weekend at the Cathedral in Hartford Archbishop Blair awarded Ed and Mary Bouquillon—long time St. Catherine Parishioners—The Saint Joseph Medal of Appreciation, the Archdiocesan medal for those who over a long period of time have lived their lives as human examples of Christ in our midst—Believing our Faith, Living our faith, and Sharing our faith with others. The Cathedral of Saint Joseph was filled with people from every parish who likewise have chosen to be Christ among us. Not easy, not simple, and never convenient. Yet, like today’s readings suggest, we must align our will to God’s Will and then let the Holy Spirit direct us. If we see the circumstances of our lives with eyes of faith and then listen to His Voice and follow Him, we can be confident in the end of times. Nobody should do everything, but everybody should do something. Because our Catholic Church is so active in our community and our world, we have plenty of options of Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy from which to choose. We are blessed!