Those Loving Commandments

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.”
John 14:21-26 (NAB)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father now that is the truth! Jesus gave us so much to listen to and keep in our hearts in regards to you beloved Father. The commandments Jesus gave are to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Anyone who has these in their heart also loves Jesus because if we love you dear Father we also love your son, because you are one. But why is it when we say we are Christians who love God, fail to love our neighbor. If a stranger who was alone came up to us to talk, do we keep our distance because they are not with our group. I witnessed this myself around others and saw how when a person asks a question of another and the rudeness in their not wanting to simply answer. We fail so very often in our day to day dealings with others and we think we are Christians, followers of Christ. God loves us inspite of our failings and forgives us on a constant basis. Those simple gestures speak volumes of how truly much we have followed the commandments Jesus gave us. Some of those very simple gestures tell how much we don't love as we should.

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19

Prayer

Dear Father you gave us laws to follow in order to keep us on the right path. A path where we know there is life and love. We break these laws and we destroy ourselves. You teach us to love you and love our neighbor and from that we can not go wrong. Dear Father may we come to love your laws and teach them to those who do not know you, so they too may come to you in faith, hope and love. To abide in your love where we keep ourselves from sin. Amen