10 July

No one wants to be recognized or loved by his fame or money. All of us want to be recognized and loved for what we are, without any hidden agendas. We know that the famous, rich or powerful persons get friends from everywhere. “The dog shakes its tail for nothing other than for bread”, as the saying goes. The one who is intelligent keeps his “forever” friends, he will not be taken up by the flattering of the opportunists; those who declare themselves as his friends while they have something to give and leave him when he lacks something or does not respond to their expectations.
Is it possible to love the neighbour for Jesus? According to the teaching of Benedict XVI, this love “consists in that, in God and with God, I love also the person whom I don´t like or not even know. It can be possible only by being led from an intimate encounter with God, an encounter converted into a communion of will by arriving at implying the sentiment. Then I love to look at this other person not anymore with my eyes and sentiments, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ. His friend is my friend”.
Jesus loves us for what we are, as children of God; he has given life to each one. Each one is special for Jesus, because the Father has created and loves each one of us as we are. He recognizes that his friends and disciples are a gift from God and wants to be where he is to contemplate his glory, because he has loved them with the love he himself has received from God (cf. Jn 17: 14-26). Jesus shares his love with us, the love with which he loves the Father and the love with which he loves us. It´s because of this, our love for Jesus leads us to love the neighbour as he loves them so that when we love one another, we love Jesus himself. Therefore he says when something is done, “for any of these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25: 40).
Do you love out of your feelings or your interests or moved by the very love of Jesus that has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit?