Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 6, 2021
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
What a gift this gospel is! But that wasn’t my first thought when I read it. How am I going to write a reflection about this, I thought. The text is so short. The message is so general. There’s no story here.
But there is a story here, a love story. That is the great gift of this gospel reading. Jesus says, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” The relationship between the Father and the son is love. The relationship between Jesus and us is love. For Christians, it is all about giving, receiving, and sharing the love of God. So how do we remain in that love, as Jesus tells us to do? We keep his commandments. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” Since Jesus commands us to love, the way to remain in his love is to… love! This is not an burdensome command. Jesus wants us to be close to his love and close to the love of the Father.
When we have adult children (as I do), we know that they will always remain in our love, but they will not always remain with us. Our children grow up and move on with their lives. I have sent two children to Notre Dame and beyond. What we hope for is that our children will share the love that we gave to them and that their love will draw them back to us. In this way, today’s gospel really resonates with my experience as a parent.
Jesus gives us this message in the Gospel of John not to admonish or threaten us. He gives us the message because he desires that our “joy might be complete.” I, for one, think that’s a great offer!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, may everything we do this day honor the profound depth of your love for us. May our gratitude show itself in fruits of justice, love, and peace for each person we meet and for those throughout the world who continue to suffer. Thank you for your love. Amen!
Saint of the Day
Rose Maria Benedetta experienced all the sorrow life could bring a wife and mother, and she responded by growing in compassion for others who were suffering.
She was born in 1831 in Genoa, Italy, one of six children in a well-to-do family. She married in 1852 and the couple had three children. The family moved to Marseilles, France, but had to return to Genoa because of financial trouble. During this time, their oldest child got sick and was left mute and deaf. Then, Rose's husband died in 1858, and a few months later, her youngest child died of an illness.
It seems that her suffering led her to greater compassion for those who also suffer. She continued to care for her two remaining children, but she began to develop a fervent spiritual life, and actively reached out to others who were poor or experiencing pain in some way.
She preferred to remain private with her devotion, but she became known for her insight and holiness, and people started to seek her out. She discerned a call to form her own religious community. Even though everyone around her encouraged her to follow this call, she was afraid that her children would not receive enough attention from her. She spoke to the pope about it in 1866, with the hope that he would affirm her fears, but he told her to begin working on the new community right away. She was allowed to continue raising and caring for her children as she began this important work.
Later that year, she founded an order of sisters under the name of St. Anne, the mother of Mary. Its mission was to care for the poor and sick. She and 12 other sisters professed their vows and she took the name Anna Rosa. By the time she died in 1900, 3,500 sisters had joined the order, living in 368 community houses around the world. They built hostels and schools, and took on a special ministry to the deaf and mute. Today, the order is associated with the Movement of Hope, the Contemplative Order of the Daughters of St. Anne, and the Sons of St. Anne.
Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno, you transformed your sorrow into hope for the poor and sick—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Anna Rosa Gattorno is used with permission from Catholic Online.