Service

"When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you fastened your own belt and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will fasten your belt for you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me."  -John 21:15-19

This Gospel reading,  I believe, is a beautiful example of what it takes for true service in the Church. If we look at this passage closely in the Greek text, we can see that there are two kinds of love spoken about. The first two times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, Jesus speaks of Agape love. Agape love being the highest form of love. Peter, however, because of everything that previously has happened with his betrayal of Christ, is hesitant to respond with that kind of love. Instead, he responds with Philia love, which is a devoted familial love. The last time that Jesus asks Peter, he asks him with Philia love and Peter responds in Philia love.

What is so beautiful about this Gospel reading is that Jesus meets Peter where he is at. He simply asks Peter if he loves him. Jesus doesn't ask Peter if he would be a great Pope and leader, teaching all truth without fault, guiding souls closer to Heaven without losing a single one. He simply asks, "Do you love me?" That's all that is required in service, true service in and of Church, love. It's not required that we perform miracles or do great works but rather that we love in all we do. It is in and through our movements of love that we truly follow Christ and that souls experience and witness Him, who first loved us!

Let us pray for the grace to simply love in all that we do, think, say, and pray!

Written by Alycia, Special Events Coordinator for the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is beautiful! As we prepare for the great Feast of Pentecost, let us reflect on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez, in his book, True Devotion to the Holy Spirit, gives us a wonderful reflection on such a topic. He says,

"The Holy Spirit's teaching is unction. He teaches us by pouring himself into us gently and penetratingly. His teaching is as a divine caress of love. He teaches us as mothers teach their children, with kisses of love, with an indefinable outpouring of tenderness. We learn from him as we perceive the fragrance of a perfume, as we savor the sweetness of a fruit or enjoy the caress of a breeze that enfolds us. 

The light of the Holy Spirit is the fruit of love; it is the happy consequence of union. United intimately to divine things through the work of the Holy Spirit, the soul tastes them by a direct divine experience. How profoundly do the words of St. John express this: "His anointing teaches you concerning all things."

The true director of souls, the intimate master, the soul of the spiritual life, is the Holy Spirit. Without him...there is no sanctity. The perfection of a soul is measured by its docility to the movement of the Spirit, by the promptitude and fidelity with which its strings produce the divine notes of the song of love. A soul is perfectly holy when the spirit of love has taken full possession of it, when the divine artist finds no resistance or dissonance in the strings of that living lyre, but only celestial strains coming forth from it, limpid, ardent, and delightfully harmonized."

As Pentecost approaches, may we be open and docile to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, the master of the spiritual life, so as to fully live out our Christian life in complete charity.

Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Amen!

Written by Alycia, Special Events Coordinator for the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm

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