Sixth Sunday of Easter

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First, I would like to wish all of our mothers a very Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s ask the Lord today to continue to abundantly bless and protect all of our mothers!

As we draw closer and closer to Pentecost, we encounter the Lord in another beautiful moment. Jesus is preparing us for the coming of His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a deeply personal Gift for each of us from the Father. As with any gift, we should joyfully receive it and honor the Giver by using it. However, we need to prepare and prune our hearts for this Gift because of His magnitude and beauty. We need to tend to our hearts often, constantly making space for this Gift and being attentive to His movements. Silent prayer and seeking how our heart is truly feeling are beautiful ways to be attentive. Today we see Christ clearly telling His disciples that He will not leave them. Even if the world can no longer ‘physically’ see Him and cannot accept Him because it does not know Him, He promises that His disciples will still be able to see and know Him. I am sure that many of you agree with me that if we take a look around, we really do see Christ very often! What a special place we have here at Sts. AJs and The Newman Center. Christ is not static; He is active, always

moving, present everywhere and in everything. Where have you seen Christ or His Spirit moving in your life recently? Have you been attentive to those movements? Have you been afraid to

respond?

In this passage we also see Christ telling His disciples that love requires action. Saint Ignatius of Loyola reminds us that “Love ought to manifest itself more by deeds than by words.” It is important that we put our love into action. Take a look at our mothers: we know they love us not just by their words, but by their beautiful deeds. How is Christ calling you to put your love for Him into action? How is He inviting you to know, love, and serve Him more?

The deep love the Son has for the Father naturally allows Him to live the Father’s commandments. It’s evident that great love between two always produces beautiful fruit. We can also see Jesus’ words as an invitation from Him to love His Father, for if we love His Father as He does, we will do His Father’s will as He does. I pray that we may continue to fall deeply in love with the Lord because that’s how we will come to keep His commandments.

Maxwell Schwabe
Drexel Senior