Greeting (See Second Reading)
God lives among his people, he makes his home among us in
his Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus, may he be our God-with-us. The Lord be with
you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Love Is Inventive
We are often surprised because of the things people who love
us do for us or give us: it amazes us how inventive love can be. Look at God,
the origin of all love: he lets his own Son become one of us; Jesus astonishes
us by his love for sinners, for misfits in life, for those who suffer. He gives
up his life for us. And it is that inventive love which he makes the heart of
our faith and our life. If we only had a bit of love like that we could make
ourselves and our world all new. It is this inventive, renewing love which
Jesus comes to share with us in this Eucharist.
See How They Love One Another
If you would be asked to define what is most typical of our
Christian community, could it be said of us, as of the first Christians, “See
how they love one another”? According to our Lord himself, the mark of his
disciples should be that we love one another as he has loved us. Gathered here
for the Lord’s meal of love, let us ask him to make us love one another the way
he has loved us.
Penitential Act
God has loved us much more than we can imagine. But how much
have we answered his love? How much have we answered the love of people? Let us
examine ourselves before the Lord. (pause)
-Lord Jesus, with your love you came to renew this old and
sick world: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
-Christ, to your Church and to the world you left as your
testament and heart your commandment of love. Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ,
have mercy.
-Lord Jesus, you made your own love the model and measure of
our love for one another: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us all our sins. Renew
us by your love and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that our love may draw its strength from God’s
own love (pause)
God, loving Father, you made us aware of the depth of your
love when your own Son laid down his life for us. Jesus asks us to love one
another the way he has loved us—all the way. And yet, our love remains brittle
and fickle; it will always fall short. Give us a bit of your own love, make it
reliable and lasting like yours, ever respectful of people, always inventive
and new, and reaching out especially to the poor and the unloved. We ask this
in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Acts 14:21b-27): God Had Done Great Things
with Them
Paul and Barnabas had suffered and toiled much to found
new Christian communities and to encourage the faithful. Yet they acknowledged
that it was God who did all this good work with them.
Reading 1: Acts 14:21-27
Second Reading (Rev 21:1-5): See, I Make All Things New
Since the resurrection of Jesus, a new world has begun to
take shape among people, that of the presence of God among us through the risen
Christ. John gives us a hopeful vision of this new world in the making.
Reading 2: Rev 21:1-5a
Gospel (Jn 13:31-35): A New Commandment for a New People
At the Last Supper Jesus leaves to his disciples the
commandment of love as his last testament. This love is the key to a new world.
Gospel: Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
Intercessions
Jesus reminds us today that love is the fundamental law of
Christianity. Let us pray to God our Father so that among us love may not
remain an empty word, and let us say: R/ Lord, unite us in your love.
– For
the Church, the People of God, that with the strength of our commitment we may
be a voice and a force promoting justice and love among people and among
nations, let us pray: R/ Lord, unite us in your love.
– For
the Churches groping for unity, that one day they may eat together the one
bread of the one Lord, let us pray: R/ Lord, unite us in your love.
– For
scientists and economists, that by their inventions and endeavors they may
promote the quality of life and human freedom and dignity for all, let us pray:
R/ Lord, unite us in your love.
– For
all people of good will, that they may build up together a just society based
on fairness and love, where there is no room for any discrimination, let us
pray: R/ Lord, unite is in your love.
– For
all of us here, that we may form a community of service, love and hope, open to
all needs and all just aspirations, let us pray: R/ Lord, unite us in your
love.
God of hope, in you we trust. Renew us, our lives and our
world through him who is your presence among us, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Faithful God of hope, the bread that we eat is meant to be the
bread of peace, but to many it is still the stale bread of tears and injustice.
The cup that we drink is meant to be the cup of unity and joy, but often it is
still a bitter cup of sadness and inequality. Let the bread and the wine which
we bring before you become for us your Son Jesus, the food and drink by which
we build a better world, for he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us with joy give thanks to the Father that a new life
and a new world have begun for us on the day when his Son rose from the dead.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
With Jesus living among us, let us pray to our Father in
heaven that the fullness of his kingdom may become a reality among us: R/ Our
Father...
Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you
peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your
Church and grant us always the peace that comes from unity and sharing and from
working together to build up your kingdom of justice and love, in which you
live with us for ever. R/ Amen.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord, who says to us, his disciples today:
Love one another as I have loved you. Happy are we to be invited to eat the
bread of life and love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Loving Father, the Eucharist in which we have shared is for
us the sign and token that we can learn to love one another as Jesus has loved
us: to the end and without measure. Thank you for the love you have shown us. Let
our love bear witness to all the love we have received from you, that our
efforts to spread your joy and justice may lead people to recognize you as the
one true God and to accept the One you have sent, Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Blessing
In this Eucharistic celebration we have been united as a
community of faith, hope and love. Now we return to our respective tasks. Let
us keep united and take to heart the Lord’s commandment of love. Let us try to
love one another as he has loved us. This is the key to a new world. And take
home with you the blessing of almighty God: the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the joy and the love of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
****
Commentary: Loving Until It Hurts
Read: The missionary passion of Paul
and Barnabas brings the gospel to wider regions, especially to the non-Jews.
John sees God pitching his tent amidst human beings to wipe away tears from
their eyes and make everything new. Jesus gives the “new commandment.”
Reflect: What is so new about the “new
commandment?” In essence, it does not seem different from the “old.” Deut. 6:4
spoke of loving God with one’s entire being and Lev 19:18 spoke of loving one’s
neighbor as oneself; and Jesus reaffirmed them as the “great commandment” (cf.
Mt. 22:37-40). Yet, the “new commandment” is definitely new in terms of its
model, scope, and semiotic value: We shall do this loving as Jesus has done –
“Just as I have loved you, you must….” If, in the Leviticus the “neighbor” applied
tribalistically to members of one’s own group, here Jesus leaves it open-ended,
to include even our enemies (cf. Mt. 5:44; Lk 10: 25-37). Finally, love
of such scope modelled after Jesus shall be the sign by which
the world would know a Christian.
Pray: Pray for the grace to
love until it hurts, as recommended St. Teresa of Kolkata.
Act: Reach out and mend a broken
relationship today.
=============
18 May 2025 John 13:31-33; 34-35
He loved us first, and called us to love
Before returning to the Father, Jesus left His disciples —
and us — His greatest legacy: “As I have loved you, so you must love one
another” (Jn 13:34). This is the heart of what it means to be Christian. Not
simply a call to love, but to love as Christ himself has loved us — completely,
freely, and without conditions.
Jesus spoke these words in a moment of darkness and
betrayal, yet He reaffirmed His unwavering love. Even as Judas stepped into the
night of treachery, Jesus’ love remained. Brothers and sisters, this is the
foundation of our faith: not that we loved God, but that He loved us
first. Our worth is not based on what we can achieve or produce, but on
being loved unconditionally by God.
Understanding this truth transforms how we live holiness.
Pope Francis, in his homilies, reminded us that Holiness is not about heroic
efforts or extraordinary achievements; it begins in everyday life, among the
“pots and pans,” in small acts of love, patience, and mercy. It is about
letting ourselves be changed by God's love, allowing His Spirit to fill our
hearts so that we, too, can love. True love does not stay at a distance; it
involves getting close, looking into another’s eyes, and recognising the face
of Jesus.
Each of us is called to this path of holiness — unique,
original, and full of joy as Blessed Carlo Cutis used to say: it is not a
photocopy, but an “original”, mine or yours. It is uniquely our
own. Truly, the Lord has a plan of love for everyone. He has a
dream for your life, for my life, for the life of each of us. Pursue that
dream with joy, with courage, rooted always in the certainty that we are loved.
