A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR

May 5, 2024

In the movie “Hacksaw Ridge”, US Army Medic Desmond Doss saved 75 men in World War II…all without use of a weapon, as he was a pacifist and conscientious objector. He did so by physically carrying these men to safety, risking his own life. His heroic actions led him to be the first (and only) conscientious objector to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, America’s highest award for bravery.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn15:13). I think that Cpl. Doss certainly fulfilled this mandate with his actions in wartime Japan. This mandate, however, goes beyond the battlefield, beyond combat situations. I believe that Jesus is calling us, in our everyday lives, to put others first and ourselves second. A person can “lay down one’s life” (ibid.) by reaching out to one in need and helping them in a situation that they cannot accomplish themselves.  In doing this, we love one another as Christ has loved us. It is the love of Christ, placed on one’s heart, which compels someone like Cpl. Doss to act in the manner that he did. It is that same love that compels us to reach out to a brother or sister in need.

In 1 John (our second reading), we are called to love one another because “love is of God” (1 Jn 4:7). The essence and existence of God is love. The pure love of God is what we are called to share with one another. Often times, this love is subverted and distorted by the world, for the world has a way of taking that which is pure and using for its own purposes, whether pure or not. When it is pure, God’s love is extended into the world; when it is impure or corrupted God’s love is suppressed and blocked.

We are called to love our brothers and sisters with the love with which God has loved us first. May we have the courage to love with the purity that God has placed on our hearts.  May we know this love, share this love, and see that this love is brought to fruition in word and in deed.

A Blessed (continued) Easter Season to you all,

Fr. Paul