Sunday Reflections

First Reading:            Acts 14:21-27
Second Reading:       Revelation 21:1-5a
Gospel:                      John 13.1, 31-33a, 34-35 - The New Commandment

St. Therese’s School of Love

In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus gives us the new commandment to love one another just as He loves us. Jesus goes on to say that “everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” As stewards we must always seek to love others and in doing so, point them to Christ. Let us take some time to reflect on the words of a great saint of love, St. Therese of Lisieux.

St. Therese, a doctor of the Church, famously promoted her “little way.” She didn’t believe she was strong enough to perform great acts of charity or mortification. Instead, she sought to offer up small acts of kindness as her gifts to Christ and the Church. She tells us to “miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” Love isn’t reserved solely for grand gestures but can also be displayed through small charitable acts.

Moreover, St. Therese says that “without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” We must always infuse our stewardship with great love otherwise it may turn into simple volunteerism. Let us seek ways to offer up our time and talent to our parish communities, regardless of how small they may seem to be. St. Therese reassures us that “Our Lord does not so much look at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them.” Let us strive to fully give of ourselves and remember St. Therese’s teaching that “When one loves, one does not calculate.”

Summary

Jesus says in the Gospel that “everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” As stewards we should always strive to love others, but we should remember that love isn’t reserved solely for grand gestures but can also be displayed through small charitable acts. St. Therese of Liseux tell us to “miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.         

https://www.archtoronto.org/stewardship