Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Catholic Church

Today’s gospel takes place at the Last Supper before Christ’s death.  Up until now, the apostles have been taught by our Lord.  But after His ascension they in turn will have to go out and teach others.

Jesus’ prayer sounds like a commencement speech: “Father, consecrate them in the truth… As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” He sent the apostles and now He sends us into the world.  For this reason we have been consecrated by our Baptism and commissioned by our Confirmation.  We have been sent to face the challenges of the future.  Each Sunday we are instructed for this work by God’s word and strengthened by the Eucharist.

During the Last Supper, Jesus expresses His confidence in His apostles.  Knowing they were weak and frail, He made a daring act of faith in their ability to proclaim His gospel.

In the same way, Jesus knows how weak we are, yet He makes a bold act of faith in us as we are sent into the world to face today’s issues and transform our universe.

What a wonderful challenge it is to be sent by Jesus to change the world and make it better.  Not to run away from the problems of poverty and oppression, but to plunge into them and improve the lot of God’s people.  Not to turn away from the world’s injustice and violence, but to turn toward them and remove them.  Not to turn our backs on its abortions and drug addiction, but to confront them and eliminate them.

Our task is not to condemn the world for its sins, but to save it; not to abandon its people, but to redeem them, not to reject its institutions, but to renew them.  It is for the magnificent task that we are sent into the world—to confront it, to influence it, and to change it for the better.

As Jesus has reminded us, our purpose in life is not merely a private affair– our own sanctification, it is also a social matter—the world’s transformation.

At the end of each Mass we are sent into the world to challenge it and to change it for the better.  If Christ believes in us,  how can we help but go out with confidence in our own unique individuality and ability?  How can we help but begin again with great eagerness to do our task.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell

As we look at today’s Gospel, we notice that our Lord’s words come as a climax to an impassioned plea about love.  He uses the word “love” no less than eight times in sixteen lines of His speech.  Nowhere else in the gospels does the theme of love dominate a text so strongly.

Since Jesus is about to die, His words on love become His legacy to us—a legacy He would act out by laying down His life for us literally on the cross and sacramentally in the Eucharist.  Moreover, it is a legacy that leads us to do the same thing—to make love our supreme value and to lay down our lives for one another.

Laying down one’s life in love may sometimes involve real death.  However, more often it means a lot of little laying downs of our selfishness for the good of someone else, especially when we are not in the mood.

These laying downs might take the form of giving up some television time to call someone just to be friendly, or going out of our way to visit someone just to be friendly, or going out of our way to visit someone who is sick, or writing a note of sympathy to someone who is grieving.

We lay down our lives whenever we leave aside our comfort to welcome a guest, or lend a helping hand to a neighbor, or volunteer our services at a parish activity.

There is no greater love we can show to our family or friends than to give something personally, or to set aside something that is very much a part of our life.

Jesus lives in our love because He laid down His life on the cross for our salvation.  What kind of legacy will we leave behind us?  Is there any cause or any person for whom we are laying down our lives in selfless service and sacrifices?

God Bless

Msgr. Powell