"Even while
living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness
and compassion for men that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains,
as Mary suffered for the pains of her children."
- Saint Jerome
"Even while
living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness
and compassion for men that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains,
as Mary suffered for the pains of her children."
- Saint Jerome
May 7, 2021
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 289
Reading 1 Acts 15:22-31
The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’“
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
Responsorial Psalm 57:8-9, 10 and 12
R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Jn 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 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.”
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Laying down your life for Jesus
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus emphasizes that he has chosen us to be his friends. He chose you! He looked at you and said to the Father, "I want to be close friends with this one!"
Slaves serve their masters out of fear and duty. Friends serve each other because they care. Jesus doesn't want us to serve him with the "do it or else" fear of punishment. Nor does he want us to serve him out of obligation and duty. Rather, he wants us to realize that he's here to serve us because he cares about us. Then, because we appreciate him so much, we want to serve him by helping him serve others.
In our enthusiastic love for Jesus, we love everyone whom he loves, and we want to serve them as he serves them. Jesus and you are friends who partner together to make the world a better place.
Jesus summarized all of the Holy Commandments in one sentence: "Love one another as I love you." Do you obey God because you love others?
Do you obey Church teachings because you love others? What about those teachings that you don't like: Have you investigated how they empower you to love others? (The teachings about artificial contraception and family planning, cohabitation and marriage, and divorce and annulments are common examples, and yes even the teachings about same sex marriages -- all of it truly is about loving others in the most Godly ways!)
We are friends of Jesus to the extent that we love everyone whom he loves and to the extent that we serve them as he serves them, for he serves them not only with us but through us. This of course means doing good to everyone, even those who bring trouble into our lives. Jesus is our example of how to serve the sinner while being uncooperative with their sins.
Loving means caring; it does not mean putting up with evil. Do you pray for those who've made you suffer? Not this kind of prayer: "Punish them God the way they deserve. Make them suffer like they made me suffer." Instead, do you ask God to heal their souls and bless them with his mercy? If they don't repent, they will reap what they sow and suffer terrible consequences. Do you feel sad for them?
It can be difficult, but by uniting ourselves to Jesus and his way of handling sinners, we obey the Father just like Jesus did. Then, whatever we ask the Father in his name (i.e., while united to Jesus), it will be given to us. This is a fact, because when we're united to Jesus, we don't ask for anything that is not already the Father's will for us. And thus, Jesus gets another opportunity to serve us, to his great delight.
If we want to grow deeper in our love relationship with God, we will serve our friend Jesus by serving those around us, because he cares about them and so do we. In friendship, Jesus serves us as we walk the extra mile for others.
Love is supposed to be the bottom line and top priority of every decision we make and every action we take, even if it doesn't seem right in our limited understanding and our wounded hearts. This is how we lay down our lives for our friend Jesus.
Today's Prayer
We want to be a community, Lord! We want Your love to finally reign in our hearts! May Your Holy Spirit unite us as true brothers and sisters so the world may be eager to be with You! Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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