“So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13: 13)
A well-known triad: faith, hope and love; the foundation of Christian life. The greatest of these is love because it never fails and never ends. In heaven only love will remain; faith will see and hope will be fulfilled. Whatever we do because of love, we come closer to God, and whenever we try to grow in any attribute of love, we act similar to God.
“It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (Communion Antiphon)
“Some people God has designated in the Church to be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues.” (1 Cor 12: 28)
Every gift is important in the Church; no one is more or less meaningful. During our Programs, every element is so significant: a good lecture is connected with good chairs and acoustics, breaks without cake and aromatic coffee or tea are less effective, and workshops without good administration and assistance dont work. We are connected; we are united because we “were all baptized into one Body.”
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (Jn 19: 26-27)
This holy dialog with Our Lady and the disciple never ends. Each of us is invited to become Our Lord’s disciple—the disciple “whom he loved”. Whoever takes Our Lady into his home, discovers peace, tenderness and love—the attributes of Her presence.
“Rejoice when you share in the sufferings of Christ, that you may also rejoice exultantly when his glory is revealed.” (Communion Antiphon)
– We lift them up to the Lord.
“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (J 3:13-15)
Believers may have eternal life, not thinkers, workers or devotees alone. The believer lifts up the Son of Man in his/her life, so that they can see Him in every moment; not only when they think about God or do something for Him, or pray to Him. The believer receives life every day as a gift and opportunity to have eternal life from Him. The believer looks for every occasion to become closer to Our Lord, to look at Him and to follow Him.
“When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself, says the Lord.” (Communion Antiphon)
“A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Lk 6: 45)
My heart can be a store—a store of goodness or a store of evil. This is my responsibility and my concern, what I will put into my store. From my storage I can produce either good or evil. When my heart is full of God’s words, collected from daily readings, my retreats and meetings with my merciful God in the Sacrament of Reconcilliation, we can produce good much easier.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.” (Lk 6: 42)
To be able to see clearly “the splinter” in our brother’s eye, we have to remove “the wooden beam” from our own eyes. Only when we are in the habit of making a daily examination of our conscience, can we help our brothers. The best ever help is Our Lady—I can ask her for help to “remove the wooden beam from my eye” and then, ask her to “remove the splinter” from my brother’s eye. She can do it in truth, in a very delicate way, with compassion and tenderness.
“Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Lk 6: 38)
We know that demands can destroy any relationship. Behind my demands I have my vision (so often very idealistic) of another person, my expectations, and my rights. Being oriented to giving helps me understand the needs of the other person. The more we give, the more we receive.
“If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours…”” (Lk 6:20)
Our Lord completely reverses the order of the world. Blessed are the poor, hungry, weeping, and when people hate you—everything normally associated with “woe.” And on the other hand, we have “woe” to all the signs of “prosperity” — again normally associated with a “blessing.” To be more or to have more?
“Rejoice and leap for joy! Your reward will be great in heaven.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles…” (Lk 6:12-13)
St. Benedict described life dedicated to God as an ora et labora – pray and work (or pray and labor). Prayer and work are partners; contemplation and action are not in opposition to each other but need each other. Our Lord “spent the night in prayer to God,” and after that “he chose Twelve.”
“Blessed is the servant whom the Lord finds watching when he comes. Amen, I say to you: He will put that servant in charge of all his property.” (Communion Antiphon)
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
Our Lady is the one “who loves God” in a most unique way. We can see how “all things work for good” in her life. We are also “called according to His purpose”; with her help, when we dedicate our lives to her, we can come closer to Him.
“Behold, the Virgin will bear a son, who will save his people from their sins.” (Communion Antiphon)
