The Missionary Decade. First day — “A divine love that brings joy”

Friday, May 10

A reading of the Holy Gospel according to John 14:1–11

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where [I] am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”Philip said to him, ‘Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.’

Reflections on the first day of the Decade. The human heart always has a desire to meet its Creator. Saint Augustine says: “My heart is restless, Lord, until it rests in You” (Confessions I, 1). On the one hand, God takes the first step: “He, existing in God’s nature, did not consider his equality with God a prize, but humbled himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming like a man” (Phil. 2, 6–7). On the other hand, man is invited to fully trust God: “Let not your heart be troubled! Believe in God, believe in me too. In my Father’s house there are many inhabitants” (John 14, 1–2). Where can a person get the strength of spirit and the desire to take a step towards God on the way to the Father’s house, in which there are many inhabitants? The answer is simple — LOVE. It was out of love for man that the Lord created him and made him the crown of all creation. It was out of love for man that the Lord became man in order to free him from sin and slavery. From the very beginning, God placed love, kindness, a sense of beauty and harmony in the depths of the human soul. A person is happiest when he loves and when he is loved. Sin has distorted our ability to love. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, revealed to us that God IS Love and that we, being His children, are also called to be icons of God’s goodness and love.

Reflections in time of war. The most natural state of the human soul and everything that exists in this world is a state of love and peace. Because God himself is love (cf. 1 John 4:8). The world came into being out of love, out of love we came into this world, and at the end of history, love and justice will once again rule definitively in the world of the Kingdom of God. If we seek a source of resilience in these times of war, we must turn to the First Source. Although at times disappointment, despair, hatred and a thirst for revenge fill our hearts, for resilience and the ability not only to survive, but also to win, we must push aside these destructive feelings that devastate our hearts and be filled with God’s power. Jesus speaks very clearly to us today: “Let not your heart be troubled! Believe in God, believe in me too” (John 14, 1). He also says: “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), “he who sees me sees the Father” (John 16:9). If it is difficult for us to find a connection with the source of love, let’s look again at the crucified Christ and also at the resurrected Christ, at the cross and at the icon of the Resurrection. Let’s try to touch His feet on the cross, and then put our fingers in His side of the resurrected Body together with Thomas, to cry out with him “My Lord and my God” (John 20, 28). This meeting, this look and this touch, before the Crucifixion, in the Eucharist, in communication with a person who needs God’s mercy, is the strongest source of stability and indomitability in times of war. We need to learn to do this often, constantly and personally. And to draw inspiration from this meeting for further acts of mercy.

Prayer intention. We pray for the power of the Holy Spirit for every Ukrainian to have the strength to love and support each other and especially those who need it most.

Prayer. “When You had fulfilled Your plan for us and united things on earth with those in heaven, You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, in no way distant, but remaining inseparable, You cried to those who love You: I am with You and there is none against you” (Kontakion, Ascension Thursday).

Mission task: Yesterday we thanked God for His gifts, and today find three things that brought you joy. Smile again.

See also

June 8 The Missionary Decade. Day Ten — Sunday of Pentecost — “Our mission: to carry the Holy Spirit to others” June 7 The Missionary Decade. Day Nine — “Tend my sheep” June 6 The Missionary Decade. Day Eight — “Christian family is a domestic Church”