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Our Sunday Reflection - May 5, 2024
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God is love.
1 John 4:7-10
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
We continue to celebrate the Easter season today, glorying in the resurrection of our Lord, who has promised to remain with us always. Jesus is with us in our waking and our sleeping, in our joys and our sufferings, in our homes and our communities. In a special way the risen Lord is with us here today as we gather in faith, in the ministers and in each other, in God’s word proclaimed, and in his Body and Blood we receive. Once more, let us pledge to bring the risen Lord with us wherever we go and whatever we do, striving always to give witness to his love. for the Lord.Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
We are reminded once again to love one another. Why? John says because love is of God, as witnessed by the Father sending the Son to bring us new life and the Son dying for us on the cross to save us from our sins. What greater love can there be for us to imitate? Moreover, Jesus promises his disciples that when we follow his command to love one another, we remain in his love and will receive whatever we need. Let us listen to God’s word, inspiring us to put our love for God and for others into action.Reflections
- We miss this in the selection from Acts that we hear today, but Cornelius is a Roman centurion, employed to exercise the authority of the Roman occupiers over that part of Judea. Most Judeans—whether Jewish or Christian—would avoid him. But Cornelius is no ordinary Roman centurion, as we see in the way he falls on knees when Peter enters his home. After this display of humility, Peter tells him, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28). How many of us are willing to say the same about someone on the opposite side, say, of our culture wars or political wars?
- “God,” Peter points out, “shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Indeed, while Peter preached about God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down upon Cornelius and all the other Gentiles, prompting Peter to see to it that these outsiders were baptized. Remember, Peter was one of those personally told by Jesus, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). Today we hear him put it into action. May it challenge us to show God’s love to one another as well.
- Love. Makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, right? But, Jesus tells us, the ultimate show of love is “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). That brings us up short. Love is over-the-moon wonderful until you start talking about its cost. Love can cause you to put someone else’s life before your own. Love can leave you vulnerable. Love can lead to heartbreak and grief. But this is what Jesus himself did, and what he calls us to do. Self-sacrificing love is the countercultural and, to many, absurd idea of putting others before yourself, for, as John wrote in his letter, God is love, and this, from the start of creation, is what God has done.
Question of the Week
What sacrifice have I made this past week for someone I love? What sacrifice can I make this coming week? What sacrifice am I willing to make for someone I hardly know?
-from Pastoral Patterns
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, May 5, 2024
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, May 5, 2024
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Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS -
Reflections on the readings
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