”This is how all will know that you are my disciples”…..And this is how the sheep will be separated from the goats

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of John…We hear something we have heard many times…But let’s break it down - Maybe in a way we never have thought about it before……”I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”…First off - Do we know what love is?…The word “love” gets thrown around a lot - But do we know what it really is?……Real love - True love - Is a total gift of self to another…Is this the definition we think about when we use the word?…..When the world witnesses love like this - The world witnesses Christ himself….This is the ONLY way to evangelize others…..But notice the beginning part of what St John is teaching us today…..”As I have loved you”……Before we can make a complete gift of self to another…We first must realize that we are deeply loved by something much bigger and greater than our self…How many people in this world do not feel this way?……Everything we give to another must come first from someplace - The laws of mathematics and science tell us that - Right?……We can not give what we do not have….When we are “filled with the Holy Spirit” - First by emptying ourself - Then and only then can we give what we have received away to another - Completely - Without compromise!…And when we do this, we not only know why we do it but we have a purpose - There is a meaning behind our actions….This is what the world lacks and does not understand about love…Self Sacrificial love stops traffic - There is “no argument” to be made against it…When Catholics love in this manner - Our lives scream of Christ Crucified and when we live in this manner - The world stops to notice because deep down each and every human being wants to be loved in this way whether they say it out loud or not…..And when this “kind of love” is consistently witnessed - Day in and Day out - The Holy Spirit “works” on the hearts of others who see it….This is what true evangelization is all about - The witness of self sacrificial love lived out in the public square for all to see

“Behold, I make all things new”

I have stated before in previous reflections that I was blessed to have loving parents who witnessed to me what an authentic marriage was all about…My parents were married for over 50 years and over the course of those years I have seen how they both sacrificed for each other and for my brother and I…With all that being said, the greatest example given to me by my parents was the last two years before my father died…My father died of Parkinson Disease and the last two years of his life were brutal…He was bedridden for most of it and we as a family cared for him in our home…My mother bore the brunt of that care at great cost to her…I watched my mother care for her husband of fifty years….Feeding him, cleaning him, siting with him….24/7….Day in and day out for two years…This was the greatest example of love I ever have seen in my life with my own two eyes!…..This is what a Sacramental marriage is all about…..Because it witnesses the love of Christ on the cross…If we want to bear witness to the world as Catholics - In whatever state we are called to live in - Single; Married or Consecrated Religious - This is the witness that SCREAMS of God - There is no argument or explanation needed….However, in order to give of ourself in this manner - We first must know we are deeply loved….Such a love must come from “someplace” greater than ourself…..We can not give what we do not have

“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away”

Today we hear something at Mass in the Gospel we can easily take for granted…Jesus explains what real love is and then commands us to do the same…But before we live out this commandment, first we have to know what real love is all about because true love is much more than a “feeling”…..How do you define love?…..Jesus showed the world what real love is….He completely emptied himself in service to others…And in the end, he gave his very life - Do we somehow think that we are exempt from doing the same?…Everything Jesus did in the three years of his public ministry was done for a purpose…It was to teach the world how to live and how to love…While we will probably not be called to be crucified as Jesus was…We are ALL called to completely die to ourself…Giving of our self to others…To not think in this way is to miss the most important aspect of what it means to be a Christian…..And when we live and die in this manner…Remember this….”I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life”…..”This is how all will know that you are my disciples”…..And this is how the sheep will be separated from the goats