We all have a different emotional make-up. Some of us can express our emotions freely and for others…well, it’s “in there,” but expressing it is another story! Saying “I love you” to another human being is not all that common unfortunately. The words kind of stick in the throat. Of course, it doesn’t mean that this person has no feeling of love; rather, saying it just doesn’t come easily. For some people SHOWING their love is much more important than SAYING it. Jesus talks about love in today’s Holy Gospel. He explains precisely how the disciples are to obey His commandment of love. The love of Jesus is unconditional …unconditional forgiveness, unconditional selflessness, unconditional sacrifice…and Jesus tells us that this must be the criterion of our love for others. This is a pretty tall order, but it should be what we are reaching for in our Christian journey. The highest expression of this love is our willingness to
lay down our lives (or KEEP ON LOVING PERSONS) as Jesus did, for people who don’t deserve it! This is where the “rubber hits the road.” It’s not easy to love people whom our head says are “unlovable.” Our hearts need to take over here and remember that Jesus loves us even when WE are not so lovable! So too our relationships with others need to be marked with trust, faithfulness, forgiveness, joy, compassion, and sacrifice. We need to be persons for others: Jesus demonstrated the love of God, his Father, for us by living for us and dying for us. So, as his disciples, we are to be persons for others, sacrificing our time, talents and lives for our brothers and sisters. Think about it…this is what parents spontaneously do, sacrificing themselves, their time, talents, health and wealth for their children, or in other words, by spending themselves for their children. The most effective way of extending God’s love to others is by treating everyone as a friend, giving him or her the respect he or she deserves. Let us remember that Christ’s own love was not limited to the people he liked. Jesus put no limits on His love. He may not have said, “I love you” in words a thousand times a day, but He loved by His actions. Joke of the Week (so much for love!!!)…A young man wrote this to his girlfriend. “Sweetheart, if this world was as hot as the Sahara desert, I would crawl on my knees through the burning sand to come to you. If the world would be like the Atlantic Ocean, I would swim through shark-infested waters to come to you. I would fight the fiercest dragon to be by your side. I will see you on Thursday if it does not rain.” GOSPEL QUESTION OF THE WEEK: “Love makes the world go round.” Are you part of the program?