Pastoral Message – May 5, 2024
I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to share a message with you every other week in our bulletin. As you might guess, when I write I must look ahead in the calendar to anticipate whatever might be going on when my words appear in print. One of the things I check is the Scripture readings we will use at Sunday (and Saturday evening) Mass. So I typed https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings into my web browser and checked out May 5 (Cinco de Mayo!) and you know what caught my eye? The word “love.” I saw the word “love” 18 times. Granted, the First Reading and the Responsorial Psalm didn’t include that particular word, but the Second Reading and the Gospel more than made up for it.
The Beatles had a song entitled “All You Need is Love.” (Should I ask Andre to include that song in our Masses this weekend? Probably not.) But seeing the Scriptures’ emphasis on love brings to mind a conversation I had with a friend after a weekday Mass recently, about the way “law” and “love” are related in the Scriptures. Jesus had said in the Gospel that day, “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.” (Jn. 14:21) These words, and other words in Scripture, indicate that the law is not intended to be an authoritarian mandate wielded over us. Rather, it is a statement of the expectations of our Divine Beloved. We express our love for the Lord by following his commandments.
This means that sometimes love is not easy. As a child I learned an axiom, or proverb: “The measure of love is sacrifice.” I’m not sure who first said these words, but they are true. They tie in with the words of Jesus in the Gospel of this Sunday: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn. 15:13)
So here we are, on the beautiful, sacrificial, Godlike path of love. Remembering how blessed we are, and how much we are loved by God, let’s show our love for the Lord and for one another. By this all will know that we are disciples of Christ. (John 13:35)
Blessings,
Fr. Philip
