Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
In the Gospel today Jesus tells His disciples, “As the Father loves me, so I love you. Remain in my love.” (John 15:9) Earlier in John’s Gospel we heard “No one has ever seen God.” (John 1:18) If we cannot see God, how do we experience God, how do we relate to God? We know God in our lives through our experience of God’s love. We deepen our relationship with God by following Jesus’ command, “love one another.” (John 15:17)
I often say in my wedding homilies that when we love, we are the most like God, for we are doing what God does best. All of us who love and are loved know that it is not always easy. Our human nature gets in the way with jealousy, anger, and irritation to name only a few impediments. While not easy, love is always worth it, and love is always the right choice. If we ever wonder, how can we be more like God, or what would Jesus do, the answer is always to love.
This weekend, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we honor those who loved us first. A mother’s love is analogous to God’s love in that it is unconditional, uncompromising, unending, and sometimes of the tough variety. Last week in the Gospel we learned that the Father, the loving vintner, prunes the branches to allow them to grow back stronger and bear greater fruit. While necessary, if the branches got to vote, we might choose to skip the pruning, and I know some of you can join me in remembering a time when our moms did a little loving pruning of their own!
This Mother’s Day is bittersweet for me, as it is the first with my own Mom in heaven. Though I miss her, I am strengthened by her legacy of love which has always encouraged me to love more deeply. Wherever your mom is today, I wish you the warmth of her love in your heart. It is a reflection of the great love of God.
I continue to wish you and your loved ones Easter blessings of good health, renewed hope and great peace,
Fr. Paul
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