Brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace!

The center of the message of this Sunday’s liturgy is love. We use this word a lot. We use it so much that we risk trivializing it… And here I would really like to invite you to reflect on what it really means: love, to love, what Jesus really wants to teach us. And I insist: here, now, because Jesus really teaches us, guides us, and wants our salvation. And in the homily, in the Gospel that we listen to, truly, Jesus speaks to us.

To understand this passage of the Gospel we must understand the context, and look at our Jewish brothers. Above all, their prayer. To this day, they pray in the morning with the “tifili”. Little boxes that they tie around their heads, and near their hearts. They are tied very tightly… really very tightly. To remember the “Torah”. The commandment of “Adonai” the Lord God. What is the commandment of “Adonai”? To love… to love God. The Pharisees were not interested in Jesus’ teaching. But they wanted to put him in a trap again. Certainly, all the Jews knew this. That the commandment of God was: “Shema” Israel… listen Israel: You shall love the Lord your God, with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength.

And Jesus doesn’t invent anything new with his response. But he teaches that love is not abstract. Jesus teaches us that love is something concrete. To love others was already a commandment in Leviticus. What is the new thing that Jesus teaches us? It is to put it on the same level. And you will love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Yes, brothers and sisters, love is not just words. And it’s not just a feeling. To love God, and to love your brother, your sister, and love them as you love yourself. If you have not experienced love you will hardly be able to love. So: if you don’t really believe that God loves you, you won’t love your brother or sister. Yes, love is concrete. To understand the love of God we must look at the crucifix. He loved us until death on the cross… You cannot be forced to love. To force to love.

If you understand what it means: love of God, which is love for you, for me, for every person. Even for those who have made mistakes… who are in sin. regardless of race, color, nationality…even religion. Yes, God loves all humanity. He loves even those who reject him.

If we understand this we truly love ourselves. And we will love others. In Auschwitz in Poland, Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe offered his own life to save the life of one Father of a family. Yes, he said: I will offer myself to die in place of this Father of a family. Why? Because Saint Maximilian really understood what it means: love, love of God. Our Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa offered himself as a hostage in place of the children. Yes, he understood what it means: love, the love of God and what it means: to truly love.

Loving is not politics, it is not interest. Love of God is not abstract, or just a feeling. It is not a religious feeling. God truly loves us. Jesus loves us and does not abandon us. Even in the toughest and hardest moments.

I would like to end with a true story. Which moved me so much, and I would like to share it with you. In Brazil, in the city of Sao Paulo, in an area where there is a lot of drugs, there lived a family. Father and mother, drug users. And they had a son, a 7 year old boy. This child didn’t go to church, he had no friends. He lived isolated with his parents. One day because of drugs, some people entered the house and killed the father and mother. But they didn’t kill the child. The child was adopted by a Catholic Christian family, Tertiary Franciscans. And the child began to go to school, and to church. And also to catechism. And he knew nothing about religion. He didn’t know who God was, he didn’t know who Jesus was, he didn’t know who the Virgin Mary was. And the catechist was very careful because the child really knew nothing about religion. One day the parish priest came to talk to the children. And he brought a picture, a very beautiful painting of the Jesus of mercy. And the Priest asked the children: Do you know who He is? That child raised his hand, and said: Yes, I know him. Everyone remained silent. And the child said: I don’t know his name, but he was the one who held me in his arms to protect me when they killed my father and my mother.

Yes, brothers and sisters… He truly loves us. And loving God is loving our brothers and sisters, as He loves all of us… amen.