BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME
I was once a guidance counselor of a parochial school. Many students came to me having problems with their studies, not because they were dumb or bad, but because they didn’t feel affirmed, loved and accepted by their parents. Most of them say that when they get home, it’s as if no one has arrived. Married men and women would confess to me that they are tempted to have an affair not because they no longer love their spouses but simply because their spouses have become cold and inexpressive of their love.
God understands our need. In today’s Gospel, God reassures us of His love for us. Listen to the Word of God saying to us, “For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (v.16). Today, we are reminded of Jesus’ love for us, a love that reached its climax on the cross.
But you know what is so surprising with Jesus dying on the cross? Let me illustrate this with an experience of mine. When I was still a seminarian, I was assigned to do some apostolate in a home for unwed mothers. In that place I met women, some as young as 16, who were already pregnant, rejected and disowned. Most of them who came into the home felt they were garbage. But after delivering their baby, they leave the place totally renewed, feeling good about themselves. Why? Because during their stay in the home, some people dared to love them even in their most “unlovable” state.
Jesus did not wait that we become good, holy and lovable before He loved us. In fact, it is because Jesus loves us that we started to be lovable and feel good about ourselves. When we look at the cross, let us be reminded of this love. Let us also be reminded not to postpone our acts of loving. Let us not wait for the people around us to become lovable before we love them. Let us love them now, and that will make the others more lovable. Or at least, this will make us dislike the other less. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are there unlovable persons around you? Why not decide to love them now, one person at a time?
Lord Jesus, grant me a loving and accepting heart. May I learn to love like You
No comments:
Post a Comment