As we know well from our experience, we are invited to respond to God’s love for us by loving Him, and then to express that love in action by loving Him – as He is present in our neighbor. In essence, our love for God is tested and put into practice by the way we love our neighbor.
Worth pondering before coming to Mass: In the second century AD, a non-Christian named Aristides wrote to the Emperor Hadrian about the Christians. His letter was an unsolicited defense of some Christians who had been condemned to death for their faith in God. Aristides wrote, “The Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If one of them has something, he gives freely to those who have nothing. If they see a stranger, Christians take him home and are as happy as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers through the Spirit, in God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail or persecuted for professing the name of their Redeemer, they give him all he needs. This is really a new kind of person. There is something Divine in them.” No wonder the non-Christians of the first century used tell one another, “See how these Christians love one another!” If there were an Aristides around today, how would he testify about us?
