Daily Reflection for Friday, May 07, 2021
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050721.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Acts 15:22-31
Responsorial: Psalm 57:8-9, 10 and 12
Gospel: John 15:12-17
Our reflection on Friday’s readings:
There are moments in life we wish had never come. Karli Ann Smith, our granddaughter, was snatched from us in a second as she waited for her ride at FedEx in Indianapolis. Looking over the abyss, we pondered the immensity of the world around us. As far as we can observe, there are as many galaxies as grains of sand on a beach and each of those galaxies has as many planets as the sand on the beach.
Alone so alone, so insignificant, Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12) God the creator of this vastness calls us to love one another, to be a cohesive force bound in mutual love. Not as a slave doing the master’s will but as God’s friend. It will be love that carries us through; it will be love that gives us life and meaning.
We now grieve with others bound together by that most precious of all gifts, LOVE. On the first night after Karli’s passing, our prayers and hopes were with all who died that night—for the parents, siblings, and loved ones; for those who protect us, and for the shooter and his mother who loved him. Could we be the grains of sand on the beach—all, each of us around the world, compacted together feeling the sun, the ebb and rise of the tide, and grieving for our losses?
“This I command you: love one another.” (John 15:17). Karli displayed love and affection for her siblings—the kind of love that we all should learn to develop, the kind of love that Jesus Christ asks of all of us. “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” (Helen Keller)
What kind of love do you have for others?
May the peace and love of Christ be with you,
Dorothy and Carlos Alexander