Meditation on 1 Jn 3, 11-24

We thank You Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, for all the blessings You have bestowed on us and especially for Your gift of having gathered us all in this place, to deepen our knowledge of Your divine Word and proclaim our perseverance in making peace, love and mutual understanding, which You gave us with Your earthly presence, prevail.

Grant us, o Lord, that Your Law may become �a lamp to our steps, the light on our paths�, opening our intellect to the understanding of Your evangelical message.

Make us worthy of becoming capable of putting Your Law into practice, not only of listening to it. Instil in us the respect for Your sacred commandments by guiding us in the imitation of Your example on this earth.

O Lord, You are goodness itself. Guide us in the ways of love. Because it is Your commandment to love every human being, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who persecute us.

You told us that �in this everybody will recognize you as my disciples, if you love one other� (Jn 13: 35) and that �the accomplishment of the law is love�.

You gave us the measure of love by saying, �as I have loved you, love one another�, and you proclaimed that �there is no greater love than to lay down one�s life for one�s friends�. Teach us to love not just with the tongue and the word, but with deeds and truth.

Through Your prophet in the Old Testament, You have demonstrated to us how �the Lord loves the stranger and gives him bread and clothing�, by reminding us how we, too, are guests in a foreign land. And through Your Apostle Paul, You have taught us that �love is the perfect bond� (Col 3: 14), and being a fruit of the Spirit, that it �is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes� (1Cor 13: 4-7). Lead us to never-ending and infinite love, so that united in Your bond and �by sharing the same love� (Phil 2: 2), we may reach the unity of Faith.

Most of all, Lord, in these times, while enmity and avarice overcome human relations, and iniquity spreads, cooling the love of many, in these times more than ever we need love. �Love does not do evil against its own neighbour� (Rom 13: 9) and the freedom You have given to all humankind is conquered �by serving one another� (Gal 5: 13).

He who does not love remains under the shadow of death. And this multitude of lifeless people, who spread the death of the spirit in the midst of a well-off and materially advanced society, demonstrates the truth of the Scripture, where it is said that �those who are far from you will perish� (Ps 72: 27) and that �contrition and pain on their way� is their reward for such behaviour.

He who hates his brother is a murderer, as Your beloved disciple teaches. And in these times we are witnessing so many such homicides, some that destroy the body and others that destroy the personality of their victims. Nowadays the earth has become a valley of laments and a place of sorrow for many. Science evades the natural order and, in the absence of love, the world becomes prey to the devil.

For this, help us, o Lord! Listen to us in this time of tribulation. Talk about goodness to our hearts and enlighten the spirit of all of us humans. Lead our steps �to walk in love, as You have loved us and have delivered Yourself for us� (Eph 5: 1). Make love spread in our hearts, for the Spirit which was given to us, and our love �evermore will prevail in our minds and in all our senses� (Phil 1,9).

In this way, by persisting in love and by acting in it, we glorify Your Name, the name of Your Eternal Father, and of Your holy, sacred and saving Spirit, now and forever. Amen.