If all the laws that were ever written in every country of the world were suddenly erased & everyone decided to live only by the law of love just as Jesus preached it, the world would be turned upside down—or rather, from God’s perspective, right side up. There would be no more wars, murders, stealing, jealousy or anger. Spouses wouldn’t betray one another, children would obey their parents, & there would be no more lies between families & friends. Love is a very common word. In fact, we use it very loosely & we have the tendency to trivialize it. Seldom do we realize the grandeur & profundity of its meaning & the seriousness of its challenge. 

This weekend, in the Gospel, Jesus made a very important qualification to the love he is talking about: “Love one another as I have loved you.” In other words, Jesus is urging us to follow his kind of love, that is, self-sacrificing love, even to the point of offering oneself for the beloved. Jesus’ new commandment calls for love without limits, conditions, or prerequisites. The authentic Christian is not the one who is smarter, more pious, more sacrificial, more influential, but rather the one who loves the most. Our love has to be like the love of Jesus, freely given, generous, universal, unconditional. Saint Mother Teresa said: “True love causes pain. Jesus, in order to give us the proof of his love, died on the cross. A mother, in order to give birth to her baby, has to suffer. If you really love one another, you will not be able to avoid making sacrifices.” That is why, in our experience, true love hurts. But the hurt becomes bearable, & even meaningful and necessary because it is borne out of love. 

The essence of God is love & God cannot but transmit love. We are asked to transmit this love to others, because we have been gifted with a relationship with him. By showing love we are revealing God to the world. God’s love for us is a gift; not an emotional feeling but a desire to love. The real love is not a sentimental feeling. We witness to this love by who we are, what we do with our lives & how we treat others. We are invited to reflect & to open our hearts to see how we are relating to those around us, with ourselves and with God? We are asked to love as Jesus loved, in the ordinary course of our lives. We should love others by responding to their everyday needs with love & compassion. We should love others by comforting & protecting those who have experienced loss. Finally, we should love others by sacrificially sharing our time, talents, & blessings with them.

 God bless you all.

"Jeff Cavin's, 'The Kingdom Yet to Come,' covering the Book of Revelation, begins on Wednesday, September 14 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Zoom & runs for 11 weeks. Cost for the workbook is $45, & payment can be an etransfer or cheque.  For more information, please contact Lucille Paplawski at 403-479-1211 or paplawski@hotmail.com."

Envelope boxes (including pre-authorized debit boxes) are available to be picked up outside of the St. Francis. Please pick up by May 30. If you have any questions contact Brenda at bkuhn@stbonaventureparish.ca.