Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the fifth week of Easter, May 23, 2025

Delivered by Ariel from the Parish of Saint Albert the Great in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 15: 22-31; Rs psalm 57: 8-9.10-12; John 15: 12-17.IN LOVE AND FOR LOVE The title for our meditation today is:In Love and For Love. The implicit meaning of this sentence is that we werecreated by God, through the marriage of our parents then we were born throughour respective mothers, in love and to love. If you want to say it morefamiliar, just call it “all because of love”. The true vine or source that producesus is love itself (as it is said in the 1st Letter of John 4: 8 thatGod is love, Deus caritas est), thenour fruits certainly love itself. This can happen because we should always beconnected with our Lord Jesus Christ as the true vine, and we are all thebranches. This relationship of love reallyreflects the greatest act of love of Jesus Christ, that is the sacrifice ofHimself for our salvation. It is this greatest love that given to us, so thatwe can also, according to everyone’s way, sacrifice ourselves for the goodnessand salvation of our neighbors. Why does this expression: "inlove and for love" lead us to sacrifice of oneself? Do we agree to suchteaching or invitation? I'm sure we agree and we follow its demand. Because ifwe are not sure and do not want to, our connection with the source of life willbe threatened to ruin or we will be loosing the way to salvation. We have hereat least four basic reasons. First, God showers His love into ourhearts. This divine sharing is not just once at the moment we received baptism,but precisely every time His words touches our hearts, the giving of Hisblessings to us, and the embrace of His love that we receive every day. This isour motivation to sacrifice. The early Church in Antioch was immediately filledwith God's love when it listened to the words and teachings on the obedience tothe true and one Church. Second, Jesus deals with us asfriends, and not as servants. Therefore He will always teach and give usexamples of how to love wholeheartedly as He has done. Third, the commitment oflove is to the end that is to our death. No matter a small or a simple act oflove is, its content and purpose is to sacrifice one’s life to the point ofdeath. Fourth, love manifests itself through thefruits it produces. For example, I am happy to greet with the smile towards theguests who come to my house. The fruit of this act is that the the guests willfind it so easy and at home, and they become my good friends. When love doesnot produce good fruit, it turns out to be lies, falsehood and betrayal.Let's pray. In the name of theFather ... O Lord Jesus Christ, as You have taught and given us examples ofloving wholeheartedly, may we always commit to do it in all our lives. HailMary full of grace ... In the name of the Father...