203. Fourth Friday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 82 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Love for our neighbour strengthens our love for God.
Let brotherly love continue we read in the Letter to the Hebrews. Above all, practise charity. That is Godâs commandment.
The path to holiness is a path of love: love for God, and love for others for the sake of God. Love for others is an unmistakable proof of our love for God. If anyone says, âI love God,â and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.
I can never let you forget, our Father teaches us, that it is Christâs charity that urges us on: Caritas enim Christi urget nos. Our Lord asks us for a love that knows no limits, a love that is shown in deeds of service, for all people of every nation, tongue, religion, or race. Within the order of charity, there can be no discrimination on the grounds of a personâs views or position regarding worldly matters. Our objectives are exclusively supernatural - because Jesus Christ died for all, so that all might become children of God, brothers and sisters of ours.
Love for our neighbour stems from Godâs love, from the love God has for us. That is its source, that is its measure, and that should be the standard we aim at. Our charity must be universal, boundless, encompassing all souls without exception. It must reproduce within our own hearts Godâs limitless love and his universal saving will, his love for each and every person. He gave up his Son for all mankind, but he would have been willing to do the same even for the sake of just one person. Our charily needs to be supernatural. Hence it is not simply a kind of emotional response to someone we find likeable, but rather it takes the initiative, and like Godâs love it aims at perfecting the person loved.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. We must love in the same way as Christ did; to the same extent as he did. We must love with his very own love, which led him to lay down his life for his friends. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
The early Christians must have fulfilled Jesusâ precept wonderfully well, since they made the pagans exclaim in astonishment: See how they love one another.
Jesus loves his Apostles, even with their defects.
Exemplum enim dedi vobis; for I have given you an example, that you love one another. Our Father has given us a good example of how we should practise Christâs charity, which is an affectionate charity. I love you, he tells us, as your mothers love you, with your defects. That is how God loves us; that is how Christ loves us.
What great love Jesus had for the Apostles! When John and James asked him for the first places in his kingdom, Jesus didnât rebuke them harshly, or cut short the flight of their ambition. He understood the real generosity that lay behind their request, and channelled it along other ways. âAre you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?â They said to him, âWe are able.â He said to them, âYou will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.â
When our Lord had to correct some defect in his disciples, he did so clearly and with divine firmness; but he never failed to show his affection for the person he corrected. He had to issue a stern rebuke to Peter, whom he had just made the Rock on which he would build his Church, for trying to dissuade him from going up to Jerusalem to suffer. But later, after the Resurrection, when they were beside the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved him - thereby reminding Peter of his triple denial and his excessive reliance on himself - he then conferred on him the responsibility of governing his Church. Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? ⌠Feed my lambs ⌠Feed my sheep.
True charity also teaches us to accept others as they are - for each one of us has faults, and we all make mistakes. With Godâs grace and human style and elegance, help them to overcome their defects, so that all of us can support one another and be worthy bearers of the name Christian.
Jesus doesnât reject the disciples because of their failings. He loves them the way they are. He even offers Judas, at the very moment of his betrayal, another chance to repent. Friend, why are you here? he asks in the Garden of Olives, inviting Judas to contrition and amendment.
If we try to see others as our Lord sees them, it will be easy to accept them as he did. That is why our Father says: I would advise you, my children, never to lose your supernatural point of view. You will have seen how marksmen and hunters always keep the target in their sights. As I was mentioning before, consider the grace which God our Lord gives us, so that we can act in a virtuous manner. And looking at things from the same supernatural point of view, remember that what we see as a defect in others is often a defect in our own vision of things.
Practising charity with others.
Always put yourself in the other personâs shoes: like that you will view things serenely and never get upset, or hardly ever. And you will be quick to understand and forgive, and will fill the world with charity. We are asked for a love that, in the words of St Gregory the Great, sets what is disordered in order, makes the unequal equal, and perfects what is deficient. Ours should be a love that cures and heals defects.
We need a spirit of sacrifice if we are to be concerned about others and make life more pleasant for them. At times a smile may be your best mortification and even your best penance. Alter alterius onera portate: bear one anotherâs burdens, trying to do so in such a way that your help goes unnoticed, so that you arenât praised for it, and no one sees it. That way you wonât lose any merit before God; and, hidden like salt, you will give flavour to our family life and help make everything in our houses supernaturally lovable and attractive.
The fact that we donât all have the same character or temperament, or the same likes and dislikes, doesnât in any way justify any form of coolness in our affections. Rather, it gives us the chance to prove the strength and supernatural meaning of our fraternity. If necessary we are prepared to forgo, with a smile, our own things - all that array of personal things, which we often love excessively. As St Jerome points out, for those who love there is nothing hard, nothing difficult.
Our Father asks each of us: How are you practising charity? Charity leads us to forget about ourselves and think about others. The moment may come when the only thing our daily examination consists of is to say: âLord, I havenât thought about myself, only about you and the others.â When there is love, there is no time for self-seeking. There is no time for pride. We see only opportunities of serving.
Our Mother, Holy Mary, loves us all in that way: without discrimination, with generous love. She loves each one of us with the same love she had for her Son, Jesus. Our Lady of Sorrows. When you contemplate her, look into her Heart; she is a Mother with two sons, face to face: him⌠and you.
May our Lady obtain for us an all-embracing love like her own, a love that covers over all the defects that people have. May she show us how to be merciful, with a heart big enough to accept and understand everyone.