Friday of the Seventh Week of
Easter
(Acts
25:13b-21; John 21:15-19)
Many
evangelical Protestants openly profess their love of Jesus. But surely love of the Lord is as much a
characteristic of true Catholics. Mother
St. Teresa of Kolkata used to describe herself by saying, “By blood, I am Albanian. By
citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I
belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”
In today’s gospel Jesus uses love for
him as the sole criterion for the substitute leader of his flock. Some will scoff that it is silly to say that
we love someone who died two thousand years ago. They will question what kind of love it is if
the beloved, like a homerun king or a rock star, has millions of professed
lovers. But these objections really do
not faze believers because they know that Jesus is alive and dwells among them
spiritually.
We too can have a personal
relationship with Jesus. By meditating
on the gospel and by caring for the poor, we sense that he is close to us. Because he is God, he can assist all who hold
him as their beloved.
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