Thursday of 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 15:7-21
Jn 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
I am going to brag a little bit here: when I read this gospel passage from today’s readings, I recognised it instantly as part of the passage about the True Vine. And now for some honesty — I had been reading this True Vine passage for several weeks now because of a series of mini retreats in preparation for my child’s First Holy Communion — that’s why I recognised it.
Communion. As my daughter pointed out, it contains the word ‘union’. In communion, we are one with Christ and He dwells in our hearts. Just like Jesus said, we are all branches of the same vine. We have the same root, and the same sap flows through us. We are always connected to Jesus, and no matter how far we think we have strayed, he is not that far off. The only thing we need to do is to abide in his love. And to abide means to remain, to stay.
What does it mean to remain in his love and keep his commandments? It simply means what it says. The part about keeping His commandments is rather self-explanatory and I’m sure we all are doing our best, with God’s grace, to keep them. If we are not, then go for confession and tell the priest you have trouble keeping the commandments — he will help you out.
Remaining, and staying in his love — what does this mean? It means that Jesus loves you endlessly and unconditionally and don’t you forget that. I had once attended a retreat by the Cenacle Sisters called Embracing our Belovedness. In short, it was like a trip down memory lane and a self reflection session where we rooted ourselves as children of God. There is no need for us to earn this right. We first belong to God, and always will belong to God. And it is because of our belonging to God that we have a yearning and longing for Him. And it is due to the brokenness of this world that we too are broken and wounded.
But his love remains. In our weakness and vulnerability, we end up chaining ourselves and are no longer free as we attempt to hold on excessively to the things we assume will give us happiness. However, we can take all this brokenness and place them right at the foot of the cross. God made us out of love, and he loves us and he wants to take our pain away. And we must let him. Leave your hurts with him.
In almost every retreat or recollection, we are asked to remember our younger days, the times when we were happy and free. It is important, I feel, to be able to recall these times and look hard to see where God was. It is also important to recall the bad times, and see where God was then. Just like in the song ‘Footprints in the Sand’, God was not far away in bad times. He was probably closer to you than you think. It is necessary, here, to mention that bad things do not come from God, but from Man. Suffering and pain as a result of Man’s action inflicted by oneself, or by another, is neither from God nor divine punishment. That being said, it bears repeating that God is always near, especially in the difficult moments.
In order to abide and remain in his love, we first must see and believe in just how beloved we are. We have been chosen, blessed, and loved. Nothing we do can change that. I suppose you can say we have had love forced on us. And we must accept this love if we are to heal our hurts. We must remain and stay as beloved children. We must abide in his love. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. We are part of him and his love flows through us.
As we continue on our journey through the Easter season, let us keep on seeing God’s love in every part of our lives. Here’s a little challenge for you, my dear sisters and brothers. Keep a gratitude journal and give thanks everyday, and share about your belovedness with someone else. It could be anyone, fellow Christian or non-believer. You never know how your sharing will impact them or spark something in them.
We are all on our own journeys. And remember to abide, remain, stay; you are beloved.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Felicia Zou)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to see how much You love us at every single moment of our lives. Help us to recognise you, even in the darkness. Help us to always turn to you in all that we do.
Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, we thank You for Your unending love and patience for us, even when we fall so many times.
OXYGEN 
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