The Lenten Journey continues. The Word of God allows us to focus on the "practices" of Lent. This Journey cannot be made by ourselves alone: although we have to take a step as individuals, we can become saints together. The other, the neighbor is necessary for our journey.
How do we relate to others? What roles do others have in our life, in our Christian life? Lent helps us to focus on our relationship with God; the Sacrament of Reconciliation is typically and largely celebrated during Lent. When we take a look at our lives, we immediately realize that we fall short - we have not responded properly to God's love. For this we ask to be reconciled with Him.
But there is no reconciliation with God without a reconciliation with our neighbor. At times we fall so easily into this terrible trap: we believe that it's only about "Jesus and me." But there is no such a thing as "solitary sin." A true and honest Christian life cannot be lived without taking into consideration that we can love God as we love the other.
Today we are reminded of this: the ultimate judgment will be based on how much we loved. I wish it were based on how much we prayed, or how much we learned, or how much we have given to the Church or to charities. Instead, it will all about our concrete love for the one who is next to me.
Why? The goal of Christianity is not to score points with God by saying a prayer here and there or to drop a coin in the box. The goal is to become a "saint," that is, to let God transform me (with my free help and agreement) in becoming another Christ. In other words, God wants us to become more and more like Him. This is accomplished by entering into a relationship with God which allows us to become what we celebrate. Therefore, our prayers, our works of charities and our practices are meant to support this transforming relationship.
IF God is love, then only Love can make us more like Him. The more we love as He has loved us, the more God can see in us what He sees and loves in Christ (as one of the Sunday Prefaces says). God's love for us is concrete, real, and free. It's proper to respond in kind: we want to love Him as He loved us - with a concrete, real and free way. Now, Jesus told us that He wants us to love Him in a particular way: by loving each other. Then, our love for each other must be concrete, real and free. The more we do this, the more we get closer to God. Simply, no? Maybe... but certainly not easy.
This is the week we focus on this love. Today we simply focus on this: to love everyone. Everyone! We are going to have so many opportunities today. People who passes by, people who at at the stores we go in, people who interacts with us. Every single time, we can say to ourselves "here's my chance to love Jesus" and we forget about ourselves and we are feeling at that time and we open ourselves to Him who lives in the other. The more we will do this, the more we realize that we are becoming more and more like Him.
2 comments:
Powerful message! This really spoke to me today. Thank you!
Good post. Thanks! This was helpful.
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