St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “The words of Jesus, ‘Love one another as I have loved you,’ must be not only a light for us but a flame that consumes the self in us. Love, in order to survive, must be nourished by sacrifices, especially sacrifices of the self.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the defining mark of discipleship is 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). When we love one another, we reflect the love of Christ, making it visible to the world—especially a world that cannot see Jesus through the eyes of faith. In this way, our witness of love for one another is a form of evangelization.
So what does this type of love look like? St. John points us in the right direction: “Children, let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and truth” (1 Jn 3:18). Indeed, this type of love is not a feeling, but an act of the will. This is agape love: a love that gives everything for the good of the other. The early Church theologian Tertullian wrote about how the early Christians conducted themselves: “But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another…how they are ready even to die for one another.” Their self-sacrificing spirits was how others knew that they were disciples of Christ. They put the needs and even lives of each other before their own. What love! May we live out our love for each other with more than words, but with a faith and love that propels us to action for one another.
Come Holy Spirit, kindle the flame of love in my heart and let it consume the selfishness there so that I can truly love others the way You love us.
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
ACTS 14:21-27
PSALM 145: 8-13
REVELATION 21:1-5
JOHN 13: 31-35