Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C) - 18 May 2025
18th May 2025
“He who is filled with love is filled with God Himself.” - St Augustine of Hippo
A reflection on today's Gospel by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"‘Jesus said, Now the Son of Man has achieved His Glory, and in His Glory, God is exalted.’
"His death would not be a martyrdom, a disgrace, or an inevitable consequence of betrayal. When the Father spoke of His Divine Son at the baptism in the Jordan, Our Lord did not say that He Himself was glorified; nor on the Mount of Transfiguration when the heavens opened again did He speak of it, but in this Hour – when His Soul faced sorrow, His Body a scourging, His mind a travesty of justice, His will a perversion of goodness – did He thank the Father. The Father would be glorified by His redemptive death, and He would be glorified by the Father in His Resurrection and Ascension.
"‘I give you a new commandment: Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.’
"Love is not a circle circumscribed by the ego; it is more like open arms serving humanity. Practically every psychotic person is an egotist. He refuses to put aside self for the sake of another. On the other hand, the most normal people are those who measure life not by the wine that is drunk, but by the wine poured forth – in the good that is expended on others.
"God loves everybody, not because everybody is lovable – but because He puts some of His own love into each person. That, in essence, is what we have to do: put some of our love in others. Then, even an enemy becomes lovable.
"It is not easy to like certain people, but it is possible to love them. The difference is this: Liking is instinctive, emotional, organic, physiological, a sensible reaction over which sometimes we have little control as over the grumbling of a stomach. But loving is in the will, not in the glands; it is in that part of our being which is subject to moral command, and is not a bodily reaction, like a wink. Liking is reciprocal, but love is not necessarily reciprocal. The friends we say we like, like us. But a mother can love a wayward son even though he does not return the affection. God can love us even when we spurn His graces.
"Love itself starts with the desire for something good. Without this desire, there can be no love of any kind. Through love, every heart seeks to acquire the perfection or the good that it lacks, or to express the perfection it already has.
"If one loves, everything is easy; if one does not – everything is hard.
"As the smallest light beam is but a reflection of the light and heat that are the sun, so all truth and all love have their origin in God.
"Love, indeed, makes the world go round – and takes it back to its ultimate source, which is God."
(Life of Christ & The Power of Love)
Act of Love
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbour as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
Jesus, I live for Thee.
Jesus, I die for Thee.
Jesus, I am Thine in life and in death. Amen. 🙏💐💖
Easter Blessing Prayer for Families
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 🙏💖💐