Jesus commands us not only to love one another but to love as He has loved us! That means that we are to lay down our lives for our friends (Jn 15:13) and even for our enemies (Rm 5:8, 10). In this way, we will be recognizable as Jesus' disciples, because no one except Jesus loves his enemies by dying for them (Rm 5:10).
How are we, with all our selfishness, to love so divinely? The Holy Spirit will purify us "by obedience to the truth" (1 Pt 1:22) so as to produce the fruit of love in our lives (Gal 5:22). The Holy Spirit will cry out in our hearts, "Abba" (Gal 4:6; Rm 8:15). We will know that we are loved perfectly by our Father. Then we will be able to love in an amazing way, for we "love because He first loved us" (1 Jn 4:19).
One week from today, we begin the annual Pentecost novena. As the Christian community throughout the world prays during these nine days, the Holy Spirit changes our "culture of death" into a "civilization of love."
Come, Holy Spirit of love!
| PRAYER: | Father, You are Love. I will live in You and in Love (1 Jn 4:16). |
| PROMISE: | "When it was read there was great delight at the encouragement it gave." –Acts 15:31 |
| PRAISE: | Sts. Nereus and Achilleus were beheaded for Jesus, offering their "bodies to God as weapons for justice" (Rm 6:13). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College