7th Week of Easter 2024 - Friday - Do you love me?

 

On these last two weekdays of Easter, our Gospel reading comes from the very last chapter of John’s Gospel.  As I mentioned recently, Saint John’s Gospel has often been called, “the Gospel of Love.”  Naturally, the final story of the final chapter of John’s Gospel is a conversation about love.

“Do you love me?” Jesus asks. 

That question isn’t answered with a simple yes or no. That question is answered in the decisions we make today. It is answered in our faithfulness to our respective vocations as priest, spouses and parents, religious, single. It is answered in how we treat people, the time we offer them, the works of charity in which we engage in our community—feeding the hungry and instructing the ignorant—. It’s answered in our fervor in prayer, our willingness to do penance, our embrace of suffering for the good of others.

For Peter, loving Jesus meant “feeding his sheep”—a very specific, unique ministry within the Church. His love for Jesus would be proven if he was faithful in leading, shepherding, governing, teaching the flock of Christ, the Church. 

Similarly, our love for Jesus is proven in our faithfulness to shepherding those he has given us to shepherd, feeding those he has given us to feed, teaching those he has given us to teach. “Do you love me?” don’t just respond with your lips, respond with your choices, your faithfulness to responsibilities, your faithfulness to God in moments of temptation, your patient endurance and acceptance of the crosses God has given you.

We show our love for Jesus when we do the tasks we’ve been given without grumbling or arguing, with diligence and care. We show our love for Jesus when we seek him out in the poor and needy in order to clothe and console Him. 

When Jesus asks us, “do you love me”, he’s not looking for lip service, but actual service. May we show our love for Jesus in a million ways today, in our words and choices, with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.

That the ordained and all members of the Church throughout the world may be a more visible sign of the love of God for humanity, calling all people to new life and communion with Him; and that our parish may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ and his tender love for sinners and for the poor

For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote domestic tranquility, national unity, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

Like the apostles gathered with Our Lady in the Cenacle, may the Church grow in Marian devotion this month, especially in devotion to the Holy Rosary. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: that they may know the peace and consolation of the Good Shepherd. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for …for whom this mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.