Dear Friend,
The Gospel this Sunday (John 14:15-21) is still part of the farewell discourse of Jesus to His disciples. Let us listen to Jesus prepare us to go on His mission in the same way He prepared His disciples then.
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"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples would keep His commandments, as a sign of their love for Him.
What did the disciples think about when they heard Jesus say this? Each one must asked himself, "Do I love Him?" Certainly, each one must have said, "Yes," except the one who would betray Him.
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Then, the disciples must have reflected on His commandments. "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34) The love that Jesus gave His disciples must not remain in them but be shared with others. This was to be a sign that the disciples loved Jesus, a sign that they truly are His disciples.
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"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it." Jesus was the first Advocate. Now, the Father would give them "another" Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the world neither sees nor knows, hence, cannot accept.
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"But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will not longer see me, but you will see me, because I love and you will live." When Jesus would leave the disciples, He would return in Spirit as He and the Holy Spirit are one. The world could not see the Holy Spirit but the disciples would feel His presence, His love and His life. Jesus had explained to Nicodemus the Spirit whom the eyes could not see, like the wind, but they would know and could feel its presence (John 3:8).
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"On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." The love between the Father, the Son and the disciples would unite them into a community of disciples.
Meditation ~
If I love Jesus, I will keep His commandments.
Who are the others whom I shall love to show my love for Jesus?
Am I of the world so as not to see and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit?
I am not an orphan with the Holy Spirit with me.
How do I feel with Jesus in me?
I do not have to be afraid to love with His company.
I am no longer alone but with and in His love, if I should love.
Contemplation ~
Request the family to respond to the presence of Jesus. Let each one find a place where one may contemplate in silence in His presence. Just request them to imagine themselves listening to His voice saying,
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Let His LOVE grow in you.
Joe & Charito
THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA'S
ONLINE RESOURCE FOR FAMILY MINISTRIES
www.simbahayan.org
servants@simbahayan.org
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