Live Your Love

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help me live your love tending the hurts of my “neighbour”.   Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

His Grace Archbishop Thomas Collins recently celebrated mass for the Knights of Columbus. The Gospel reading was that of the Good Samaritan. One of the Archbishop’s messages in the homily was that to be Catholic you just need to “Love God and love your neighbour”.

As Christians, we are called to love God and our neighbour as our self. This is not an easy task, especially when our neighbour appears different from us. So often we tend to judge and exclude people, rather than loving them as our neighbour. Today’s readings invite our attention to these aspects.

The first reading (Ex 22: 21-27) calls the attention of the Israelites to the fact that they were aliens in the land of Egypt and asks them not to oppress a resident alien, not to abuse any widow or orphan. They are further instructed to consider the poor as their “neighbour” and love them. The gospel (Mt. 22:34-40) reminds us of the twin laws that are to govern our lives: Love God; love your neighbour as yourself. These laws should govern every word we say, every decision we make, and everything we do. In fact, we should consider aliens, widows, orphans and the poor as our “neighbour”. In our love for these, our love for God is manifest and real. Our love should make us think about the hunger, the homelessness and the daily indignities that the poor are made to endure.

To prompt our sensitivity to the plight of the poor and to more deeply authenticate our love for God, the following illustration may prove helpful. Once a Rabbi overheard the conversation of two men seated at a nearby table. Both had a fair amount to drink and both were feeling quite mellow. With their arms around one another, they were professing how much they loved the other. Suddenly, the older of the two, Ivan, looked at his friend and asked “Peter, tell me what hurts me?”. Peter looked at Ivan and answered with a question of his own: “How do I know what hurts you?”. Ivan’s response came quickly “If you don’t know what hurts me, how can you say you love me?”. As is poignantly reflected in this brief anecdote, the love Jesus calls us to have for our neighbour, i.e. for the poor and needy, cannot be a mere passive platitude that speaks of love, but does not live  and give  love. That love required of us must dare to ask the hard questions about hurts and needs. This love must be willing to hear the answers, meet the needs and tend the hurts that are therein revealed.