In our gospel for today's mass from John 15 we hear Jesus talk about the love of the Father and Jesus' love for us. He's asking us to remain in His love. This is the central teaching of our Lord: To love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and to love our neighbor as our selves.
On the Carmelite calendar for today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joachina de Vedruna de Mas who understood this love that Jesus is talking about. She was born in Barcelona in 1783. She married and had 9 children. In 1816 she became a widow and felt a call to form the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of Charity.
In one of her writings she says, "If only we were all on fire with love for God! If we were, we should preach love, proclaim love, and yet more love, until we had set the whole world on fire. We must have great desires: then God will give us whatever is best for us." I'm sure during her lifetime she reflected on this gospel from John 15 and applied it to how she lived her life and how she developed her congregation. She knew that God is love and his love for us is all important as to how we live out our lives here on earth.
In our daily lives we meet many people, whether in our families, or just going about our daily routine. It is in these daily encounters that we are to bring the love of God into the world to transform it into a place that is pleasing to God.
She concludes in this writing on love, "Love, love, and yet more love-love that is never satisfied! The more we love God, the more we shall long to love him And when we have Jesus in our hearts, we shall have everything else in him and with him."
Let us, through the help of Saint Joachina, remember to love God always and to live out our lives with love towards everyone we meet. Saint Joachina, pray for us.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite Gospel passages!
You may recall that many years ago when you were a radio host we did a radio program together using country songs about love to share about GOD'S love & I read thus Gospel & gave a brief reflection. At that time I realized that Our LORD JESUS was not merely saying that the Father loves Him & He loves us, but He was saying that He loves us IN THE SAME WAY, JUST AS MUCH AS THE FATHER LOVES HIM!!
How could it be?? OUR LORD JESUS is PERFECT, SINLESS & TOTALLY WORTHY OF LOVE!! As good as we try to be, none of us is perfect, & the best of us at our best have flaws, faults, issues & even sin in ways we might not be aware! Yet, JESUS said He loves us just as much as His Heavenly Father loves Him, Who is perfect & even obedient to the point of dying on the Cross! WOW!!
YES, the kind of love that this Carmelite nun had & wishes everyone had for GOD & for others is what our world sorely needs. I am not familiar with this saint but am more familiar with St. Rita, whose feast day is also celebrated today. She, too, was a wife, mother, widow & she later became an Augustinian nun & she bore at least one of the wounds of CHRIST on her head! I think both these Holy women who share a feast day today have much in common & provide wonderful examples for us to follow. May they intercede to help us become more in love with GOD & let that love permeate our lives & this world sorely in need of love, peace, hope & unity. AMEN
Thanks deacon Tom for this enlightening message of love to God.
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