Love

 Today the Gospel speaks to us about a new commandment that Jesus leaves us: Love one another as I have loved you. The deacon tells us that with this new commandment, Jesus speaks to us about the first commandment, which asks us to love God. As Saint Augustine tells us, the first Christians loved one another because they saw God in each other. That is, they loved God in their neighbors. This reminds me of a time I witnessed an Easter Vigil from inside the church. On that occasion, I watched as everyone entered with a small candle, all lit from the Paschal Candle that represents Christ. I remember understanding that we must love others because Jesus himself is within them. And He already told us: whatever you do to my least brothers is as if you were doing it to me. As a Sister of Charity of the Order of Saint Teresa of Calcutta says, sometimes the saint had to remind them that they were serving Jesus, so that they would remember that it was Jesus whose wounds they were washing and caring for. It's not for nothing that love in Latin is caritas, that is, charity. Deus caritas est, God is love. And Jesus already told us, "Be perfect as my Father is perfect." In other words, let us love as Jesus loved us, who loved sinners, who loved his enemies so much that he asked God to "forgive them for they know not what they do," who died for all on the cross, who became the servant of all so much that he washed the feet of his disciples. And perhaps we cannot perform miracles, but we can love, help our neighbors, and reach out to them if possible. Sometimes money is not needed; sometimes simply listening is a great help to those who need to be heard.