Do you love God?

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Do you love God? You hopefully answered yes, but do you really love God? “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him.” Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel reading (John 14:21-26) that we need to prove our love to God. To do so, we must be loyal and obedient to the commandments God has given us. In yesterday’s Gospel reading, we were given the new commandment “that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” We are commanded to demonstrate our true love to God by our actions and only through those actions will we demonstrate our worthiness. God’s love for us is real and unending. He demonstrated his deep love by sacrificing us his son for us and by sending us the Holy Spirit. God made us to love him, therefore he made us to love and show compassion for our fellow man. God made us to be united with him; to have a personal relationship with him.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be blind from birth; to have never seen the light of the world? Your dreams would lack the vividness of colors of the earth. Your senses would not be expressed in the feelings of color. When Jesus cured the blind man, what do you think was the first thing he saw? Was it the beauty and glory of his magnificent creation or was it the hatred of man to man. Was it the green grass, the blue skies, the birds singing, a mother hugging her child, a father helping his son or was it people arguing, men fighting over possessions, a world in turmoil? According to the story, the blind man was so moved that he shared the good news of his healing with everyone. The love of God had overwhelmed him with joyful elation. I believe the first thing he saw was the beauty of the glory of God’s creation. I believe that the formerly blind man experienced God’s true love. We are also born into spiritual darkness. But through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are given the light of the world. At that point, we know the love of God. To know God is to grow in his love for us. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes so we can see his glory and our ears to hear his words. Are you listening to God’s word and do you see the beauty that is all around us. Our baptism gave us the light, our confirmation allows us to say to God that we are deserving of his light, that we love Him.

A Simple Prayer “Most Holy Spirit, inflame my heart with the love of God and his word. May I never lose sight of you nor forget your steadfast love and faithfulness. And may I daily dwell upon your word and give you praise in the sanctuary of my heart, You who are my All."

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon