Today we read of the essence of life in God - and that is, LOVE! God truly is love and all he creates is an expression of love, and therefore we are the manifestation of God’s being and love! The only logical way in which we are to conduct ourselves in this life is to reflect the love that we are and possess! And when we do - then we experience, undeniably, the reality and presence of God!
The opposite is also true. When we hate! When we lie! When we deceive! When we are selfish! When we are self-centered! When we are self-conceited - then we murder the reality of God’s life within us! And we murder the relationship that we are to have with our neighbor - and as Saint John tells us in the first reading today - “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer!” These are strong, but true words! WE ARE MEANT TO LIVE IN LOVE, and mutual respect and support! We owe it to one another to live this way!
The gospel passage relates the calling of Phillip - who proclaimed Jesus to be Son of God and King of Israel - when Jesus revealed to him the inner workings of his heart! Jesus knows us too! And when he reveals our selves to us - we can see how much we are in need of him, and how he truly is the one and only true Son of God and King of Israel and indeed the whole world.
Our saint for today: John Neumann was a German / Czech immigrant who was ordained a priest in New York City shortly after his arrival in 1835. He became a Redemptorist as well, not too long after his ordination. Due to his popularity and tireless work for the good of the newly established American Church, he was appointed fourth bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. He was the first to establish a diocesan Catholic school system. He increased the number of schools in his diocese from 2 to 100.
John Neumann was one who understood and did all he could to spread the reality of God as love, God as the light that comes from knowledge of him, and God as guide for the footpath of our lives!
May we live our day this day doing what we can to do the same!
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