Thursday, April 1st
Scripture
Ex 12: 1-8, 11-14
Ps 116: 12-13, 15-18 1
Cor 11: 23-26
Jn 13: 1-15
Reflection
“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end… By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
A deep, powerful love…a tender love that serves…a self-giving love. This is Jesus. The above lines from Scripture reveal the expansiveness of Jesus’ love and also issue a mandate to his followers to emanate this same love to others; Christ’s love, free of conditions, without boundaries, an inclusive love welcoming all to the feast…the lonely, the marginalized, sinner and saint, broken and healed, those needing to be embraced…needing to belong. This pandemic has been filled with heartache and suffering for our world. Yet, at the same time, we watched nurses, doctors, and chaplains tend to and comfort victims of COVID, literally “loving them to the end.” We’ve seen the sacrifice of teachers and parents going beyond the call of duty to insure the education of our children. We reaped the benefits of essential workers who kept us fed and protected. The examples are endless of people who are revelations of Christ’s outpouring love and compassion. As we remember the Last Supper, let Jesus’ words ring out loud and clear in the ears of our hearts, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Prayer
Compassionate One, bless me and my desire to love you well. Inspire me and teach me to break open my life in service of others. May I become, mind, heart and soul, your compassion for the world.
Personal Challenge
Each morning, I will beg for the grace to know how you are inviting me to love you in the love and compassion I extend to others, especially those who might be needing it most.
Sister Kathy Sherman, CSJ
Westchester, IL
