Gospel reading: Jn 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
REMAIN IN MY LOVE
The origin of love is always God, for God is love. This love is manifested in the divine Trinity where each of the divine Persons is attuned to each other in love. The Father loves the Son, and the Son as the Logos/Word is pros ton Theon (Jn 1:1) – often translated as “with God” but more accurately “attuned to God.”
Divine love now embraces creation, human beings in particular. After Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus, John declares “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). The Son loves all men and women just as the Father loves them. Jesus loves them to the very end – till death. He offers his very life for his disciples.
Love, if it is to be love, should be reciprocal. The love of Jesus calls for a response: a love manifested in the observance of his commandments. And his commandments can be summarized by love: “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” (Jn 13:34-35).
True love bears fruit in joy – authentic joy that comes from the conviction that one is loved. This joy will weather the vicissitudes of life and the highs and lows of emotions.
Do you allow yourself to be “surprised by joy”?
Where does this joy spring from?
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.