Love of Jesus is love of God, The Father
A reflection for the Sixth Sunday of
Easter 2017
May 21, 2017
Based on Acts 8:5-17, Psalm 66, 1 Peter 3:15-18,
John 14:15-21
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM
The reading
also emphasizes that when we live our lives according to the teachings of
Christ we are given the Holy Spirit within us as our counselor and guide.
"If you
love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you
know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as
orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore,
but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will
realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." Then
Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show
yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus replied, "If anyone loves
me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him
and make our home with him.
He who does
not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own;
they belong to the Father who sent me. (John 14:15-24)
The reading also
emphasizes that the Holy Spirit cannot be seen but lives within us who accept
Christ and attempt, to the best of our human ability to live our daily lives
with love for all God’s children, with compassion for the sick, aged, lonely,
hungry, homeless and marginalized.
Christ ends the message with
a firm affirmation that “"If anyone loves me,
he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and
make our home with him.”
The questions
we have to ask ourselves are these; “Do we seek our God and take time to
communicate with Him on a daily basis?
Do we take advantage of the gift Christ gave us of His body and blood in
the Eucharist regularly? Do we give back to God a percentage of the gifts He
has given to us by contributing to those who are in need and to support the
work of the church by tithing in time or
a monetary way?
Do we speak
out against injustice, violence, war, poverty and discrimination?
These are the
things that Christ did when He walked this earth and showed us the way to the
Father.
We need to
follow His example if we wish to be welcomed into the Fathers house and claim
the home prepared for us there.
The following is a prayer
to invoke the Holy Spirit to abide within us and to guide and lead us every day
of our life. The more one invokes the
Holy Spirit, the more we feel the Spirit Christ promised working within
us. May Almighty God fill us with the
Spirit and shower us with His infinite mercy and love every day of our
life. AMEN
Prayer to The Holy Spirit
By Father Robert Johnnene OFM
O Most Holy Spirit, merciful Comforter; Come, I
beseech You, and take up abode in my heart.
Let my weaknesses be penetrated with your strength, so that I may always
do what is right and just. Fill my heart
with charity toward all I encounter. Enlighten me in my ignorance, advise me in
my doubts. Purify and cleanse me of all sin and sanctify my soul protecting and
shielding me from the temptations that plague me. Make me truly humble that I may be pleasing
to Almighty God. Instill within me an honest respect of Almighty God and all of
His creations. Assist me to be an instrument of God's Word to all I
encounter. Give unto me the gift of
Wisdom to know and live according to God’s will. By your generous bestowing of your gifts,
help me to live a holy life and grow in the everlasting love of Christ so that
I may join with all the heavenly elect when my days here on earth are
ended. I ask this through Jesus Christ,
my redeemer and savior, who lives, and reigns with you and our creator Almighty
God as one triune God, now and forever. AMEN
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