"Love One Another"

(Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C)

“Love one another.” (Jn 13:34) Did we not see a remarkable example last weekend? I was touched by the Holy Father’s persistence in his visit to Greece and Damascus. Even the way he now walks, taking each step carefully and with evident pain. His greatest dream has been the unification of Catholics and Orthodox so that the Church can “breathe with both lungs.” The reticence, even the hostility of some Orthodox, must not necessarily be seen negatively. For them tradition and doctrine are paramount. In the midst of this, it was beautiful to see Mass celebrated in Greek – the language of St. Paul, the language of the New Testament.

In Damascus the pope did something quite bold, entering a mosque to pray together with Moslems. While we cannot have the same union with them that we must one day have with the Orthodox, still we share something deep – the belief in the one merciful God who reveals himself to man. The Holy Father is showing us a way to live Jesus’ great command: Love one another.

This Sunday I would like to propose another model of Jesus’ love. We are celebrating Mother’s Day. While we honor our moms as moms, we recognize they are human. The gap between ideal and performance can cause great pain. None of us wants to burden our moms with unreal expectations. Yet there is someone we can approach without those kinds of fears. I am speaking of the one Jesus entrusted to us: “Behold your mother.” (Jn 19:27)

These past weeks I have been savoring a wonderful book about Mary: Hail, Holy Queen by Dr. Scott Hahn. He tells how, as a young man, Jesus drew him away from delinquency. Because of his newfound faith, when his Grandma Hahn died, they gave Scott a box of her religious articles. In it was a rosary. At that time he knew Jesus, but considered any devotion to Mary would detract from what is owed to God alone. To him the rosary was like a chain, so he took it in his hand and broke it into pieces.

Scott eventually became a Protestant minister. During his seminary years and as a young pastor, he studied the Bible and the teachings of early Christians. Little by little he began to realize the singular role to Mary – not only as mother of Jesus, but her unique holiness. He discovered a long tradition regarding her as intercessor, spotless virgin, and queen, bodily taken into heaven.

Dr. Hahn concludes his book with an appendix on praying the rosary:

”Once I looked down with disgust upon a string of rosary beads. I saw it as a noose that choked off true devotion in countless Roman Catholics. When I held Grandma Hahn’s rosary, I couldn’t break that loop quickly or forcefully enough. Now, while I look down at my own bead, I see the same circle, but it is different. It suggests a queen’s crown, a mother’s encircling arms.”

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Spanish Version

From Archives:

2007 Homily: They Appointed Elders
2004: Necessary to Undergo Many Hardships
2001: Love One Another
1998: Honoring Mothers and Defending Children

Bulletin (Mother's Day, Annual Appeal, Timothy McVeigh)

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Hitler's Pope: Comic Book Approach to Church History

Seapadre Homilies: Cycle A, Cycle B, Cycle C

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