LOVE IS HIS MEANING

"Love is His meaning" (Julian of Norwich).

Here we are about to embark on long ceremonies to celebrate the goodness of God. And I am convinced that any other meaning that you have heard besides love is pagan, not Christian. The very title of the Gospels means good news.

We gather to receive the Gift of God. Jesus speaks of his longing to eat with them before he suffers and dies. Over and over we read the good news that God wants to share God’s self with us in love. And that is what he has done. And as we say He was a victim on the cross we need to realize that Jesus has completely changed the meaning because in myths, the victim is considered the one who has caused all the harm. As an example, during the plague in Europe, that people persecuted the Jews, having decided to put all the blame on them. In the Gospel story, we know that Jesus is the innocent one.. It is those who victimize who are the cause of evil in the world. So it is in today’s world.

So as we spend more time in prayer, it is good to recall that prayer is opening our innermost being to the love God has promised to give us. Our prayer is not a technique, it is a relationship. When we decide to give time to meditating, it is to allow God to act in our hearts. We trust the love God has for us . So it is when we gather for Mass. We are remembering and – mysteriously reliving – the wonderful deeds God has done for us. It is an act of faith. Not a feeling.. Not scientific evidence. NO we walk by faith and not by sight. Easter is that greatest work of God, greater than all of creation, because by Easter, Jesus has overcome all the non-loving works of us all, and witnesses to a Love that overcomes death.

We pray: For freedom, Christ has set us free, You are the Savior of the world.

As a Carmelite of today Ruth Burrows writes in her latest book, Essence of Prayer: "What we have to do is allow ourselves to be loved. To be there for Love, who is God, to love us." All is gift: the life we have, the energy we have to do things, the intelligence we have, the growth in maturity, all are gifts that we cooperate in. Our life is a shared enterprise. And when it comes to prayer, our share is to be open to God. "For the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Rom 5:5 Let us meditate for twenty minutes twice a day.