I’ll never forget when Notre Dame admissions decisions came out in the fall of 2025. I was sitting in my living room, afraid to open the link in my email because I didn’t want to see bad news. I’d done everything I could to maximize my chances. I’d researched the university’s programs, written my essays from the heart, and even submitted my application for early action. But in the end, my choosing Notre Dame mattered less than Notre Dame choosing me. When I finally worked up the courage to click the link to my decision, the words Welcome Home flashed across my screen. I felt a wave of relief. I was chosen.

We see this same theme present in today’s gospel. We can work hard and do our best in everything, but there is nothing we can ever do to fully earn God’s love. In our brokenness, we will never be enough. But Jesus gives us the Good News. As he says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” Despite our failings and imperfections, Jesus chooses us to be in communion with him. He wants to immerse us in the infinite ocean of his love so that, as he says, our “joy might be complete.”

Jesus doesn’t just choose us to passively receive his love. Instead, he calls us to “love one another” with the same love he has shown us. This is a tall order; loving others as God loves us is no easy thing to do. But Jesus assures us we will receive “whatever you ask the Father in my name,” even the strength to love like God. So as you go about your day today, rejoice and take comfort knowing God has chosen you, and embrace your mission to love others with Christ’s own love.