FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER, MAY 8, 2026

MASS READINGS:

Gospel: A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples:

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this,

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves,

because a slave does not know what his master is doing.

I have called you friends,

because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,

so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

This I command you: love one another.”

The Gospel of the Lord

All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

REFLECTION

"This I command you: love one another.”

Our Lady of Fatima promised us that if we persevere in prayer for the growth of the virtues of faith, hope, charity, humility, patience, perseverance and obedience, the seeds of holiness would be planted from which grace will grow.

We all have been chosen to receive such a gift. When I first started getting serious about my prayer life, it was fear of going to hell; never finding my prodigal son; my marriage did not have Jesus in our midst; and my conscience kept telling me it was time to change. I thought it was me talking to myself but looking back it was God who chose me and appointed me to go and bear fruit that would remain.

With the difficult passage of trials and tribulations, I had to let go of control and accept there was someone who loved me in spite of my flaws or beyond what I could do for them. With love came obedience and living my will in His.

The fruit of my new life is love… a love for Jesus and Mother Mary. When we meet the Lord, may our advocate remind us of the small ways we have loved Him.

• A smile given to a stranger.

• Feeding the poor and the homeless.

• Visiting the sick and praying for them.

• Praying for peace.

• Praying for the end of abortion.

• Visiting the lonely.

• Caring for the unloved and rejected.

• Getting rid of biased judgment.

• Donating new clothes to charity.

• Did I support His bride, the Church and her priests?

• And many more....

It’s a lifetime of a lesson. Jesus, our teacher, came to teach us how to love. He chose each one of us individually, calling each one of us by name. Be still and hear His voice.

God Bless You