Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15, 18- 21

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”

To know

1. The world. To preach Jesus today also implies being labeled, criticized, and even slandered. Something that I feel that happens to us is that they put us all in the same bag. It is enough for me to say that I am a priest for many to say, “oh, they are pedophiles”; or that you attend a parish church for them to say, “you belong to that institution that is rolling in money”. Of course, it’s sad and painful. And even though we have worked and healed, we have to accept that the Church as an institution, has made, and still makes mistakes. It seems that we’re not enough for this world. But we must remember that we are here to please God and not this world. If so many people criticized and set out to destroy Jesus, who is God, what makes us think that the same won’t happen to us?
2. I chose you. It’s your spiritual life that changes you. It’s your outlook on life that makes you different. It’s your attitude in the face of difficulties that changes you. It’s your way of being hopeful every day, no matter what, that fulfills you. But all this also leads you to make enemies. That’s why, even if they hurl stones at you, I invite you to go on; if you make a mistake, ask for forgiveness, but go on. Don’t let anything or anyone prevent you from giving testimony, because many will try to stop you either because you are different or out of envy. But accept the challenge, because you have God’s love and if there’s something you must always remember it’s your experience of faith. Try to always go back to that time when you felt something inside that moved you for the first time. Go back to that first love.
3. To know. God’s love makes you want to grow in the knowledge of him, and this should be so because we can’t love what we don’t know. That’s why I always invite you to read the word of God, to visit the Blessed Sacrament, to pray the Rosary, to read and learn the Catechism of the Catholic Church or to find a good spiritual reading. Don’t give up learning about God, because knowing him is something dynamic and not static. When you begin the path of getting to know him, you never end. I am constantly learning to know Jesus, and this makes me fall more in love with Him, although I don’t deny that in every walk there are obstacles, that I struggle not to stumble, because temptations and barriers are always around. But if I stumble and fall, please help me to get up, because I can’t do it alone, and I will also help you. This is the difference between us Christians and the world. While in the world when one falls, others set out to destroy him or her, we Christians are going to lift them up and help them walk along again. Are you ready to embrace this experience, this attitude?

Remember that something good is on the way!

God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.