Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14, 21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
“Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name —
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
Whoever loves me
1. Illusory love. It’s the type of love that many intelligent people feel, but they do not express it openly to the other person. They love, but they don’t tell the one they love, they don’t show it. They imagine situations to build this love, but don’t materialize them. They show interest, but no commitment. Shyness overcomes them, and pessimism suffocates them. They love but their fear is stronger, that’s why they stifle love, because they don’t make it explicit.
2. Routine love. It’s a kind of love that is not deepened. People who love like this don’t maintain that love on a day-to-day basis. They hang on to what they initially knew and felt, but years will go by, and they will not take into account certain details and processes of their loved one. They don’t deny their love, but there’s no interest in growing together with their loved one, no interest in deepening that love because they know they’ve already got it. It is a routine love, as if there were nothing new to discover because they’ve already read the user’s guide. They set an automatic behavior and that’s it.
3. Mature love. It’s a love that starts from within, from the heart, and expresses itself in everyday life. People who feel mature love for others aren’t afraid to disappear for the sake of their loved one. They know what they have to do, and they do it because they don’t expect a reward; their only desire is that the person they love be fulfilled. It is a missionary love. It comes out of itself and is not overwhelming, nor absorbing, but rather it’s generous, fresh, free.
In our Christian life we go through these types of love for Christ and for others. Love, because heaven is love.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and guard you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
