Love is a word that is used so frequently its force is practically lost. The word love is also used in so many different senses that it is essentially limited in its value. People say that they love their spouses, their children, their dogs, and of course, Monday night football.

Actually, love is a precious word that we ought to use precisely and with meaning, never carelessly or cheaply. We should be prepared to back up the use of this word with action. God uses this word wisely and well. He does not use it in a shallow sense, as do those who are merely infatuated with each other. Nor does He use it lightly, as we do when we say that we love a good steak. God tells us that He loves us, and He means what he says.

We know that God has a profound love for us because He has backed up His words with action. One characteristic of true love is generosity, a generosity that knows no limit. When understood properly, love and giving are synonymous. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He gave us His all!

Reflecting on today’s Gospel, two words came to mind: love and action. Jesus accomplishes great things through us. He tells us, “Anything you ask in My name, I will do.” We receive great love in our hearts when we accept Jesus in our lives. Then, with that love from Christ, we can truly share love with our brothers and sisters by works of charity, caring for those who are sick, attending to the needs of those who are without, or just being there to listen to someone who needs to tell his or her story. That is when we are truly acting on our faith and know Jesus in others and in ourselves.

Today’s feast invites us to cherish the basic riches of our lives in Christ. This whole Easter season of fifty days celebrates the gifts of Christ’s power and intimate availability to all of us. Jesus is close and accessible to us. He gives us the assurance that those who have faith in Him will do the works He does, and far more. We must never forget how much we can trust Jesus to accomplish great things through us.

The apostles are examples for us of the power of Easter faith. Along with the other disciples at the time of Jesus’ death, we are full of fear and hesitant to act. This changed for the Apostles and disciples as they accepted the gifts of the Resurrection, the power of God’s Spirit present in their lives. Jesus had given the apostles, these relatively simple people with few skills, the mandate to preach and give witness to the entire world. And look at how Jesus’ message, with the will of His Father, has spread love and action throughout the world.

Someone very special to me truly knew the love of Jesus and has shared it with others. Deacon Don died in December of 1998. His footprints of being Christ to others were scattered throughout the city of Spokane. He visited the elderly in nursing homes, fed those who were hungry and who were living on the streets. He and his family shared their home with kids from the streets and helped them to get their lives together. Don truly had Jesus in his heart and put his faith into action.

We too must have faith in Jesus and have the will to do God’s work here on earth, just as my friend Deacon Don did. Our prayer is fitting from our psalm for today’s readings: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor” (Ps 34). May we also hear that cry. Amen.

Think whether we use words with meaning.

Many a times we might have come across these words or we have used these words. Because of the frequent use of these words, this has lost its colour and charm and also its soul. They have become hallow words. They are mere worn out words without an atom of sincerity in them.

When did we become familiar with these words? From our schooldays onwards. Our teachers might have taught us the format of letter writing. There we have studied such usages as yours lovingly, yours obediently, yours trustworthy and so on. During those days, we never understood the real meaning of such words as love, obedience and trustworthiness. When we grew up also, we never tried to contain the true spirit of these words.

When we write ‘yours lovingly’ does it touch or does it come out of our heart? Love is really something which is latent in our personality. It is the gift from God for God is love. It must gracefully ooze out from us with sincerity. In the present day world, we usually pretend that we love somebody.

Love is a kind of sharing. Sharing always leads us to generosity. A selfish person can never be generous and he cannot love somebody really. But everybody wants to get love from others. “If you love those who love you what reward have you” (Mt. 5:46). We are not ready to feel for others. Really we do not contain their pains. We cannot go down to their life-situations, their sufferings, sickness, wants, adversities and struggles. We can expect returns only when we give. But in the divine sense, “the measure you give will be the measure you get and still more be given you” (Mk. 4:24).

Frequently we say that ‘God is love’. So love contains all the graces of God.

When we open our heart for others, our light fisted attitude towards others gets loosened. We become charitable. Luke 6:31 says, ‘as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.’ When we become charitable, our problems will disappear from our lives. There is bickering in all our surroundings. There is no understanding among the family members even. All are complaint boxes. Nobody is satisfied with what is given to them by God’s grace. We are not satisfied with our financial situations, physical appearance, family setup, marriage relations, the education which we got and the professional status. We compare ourselves with others and discontentment looms large in our lives.

Make Jesus our model. Follow His foot-steps, obey His commandments and tell always to Him, ‘Yours Lovingly’.

- – - written by E.C. James

To My Friends Who Are Single

Love is like a butterfly.

The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you just let it fly, it will come to you when you least expect it.

Love can make you happy but often it hurts, but love is only special when you give it to someone who is really worth it.

So take your time and choose the best.

To My Friends Who Are Not So Single

Love isn’t about becoming somebody else’s ”perfect person”

It’s about finding someone who helps you become the best person you can be.

To My Friends Who Are Engaged

The true measure of compatibility is not the years spent together.

But how good you are for each other.

To My Friends Who Are Married

Love is not about “it’s your fault”, but “I’m sorry.”

Not “where are you”, but “I’m right here for you”

Not “how could you”, but “I understand”

Not “I wish you were”, but “I’m thankful you are”

To My Friends Who Are Heartbroken

Heartbreaks last as long as you want

and cut as deep as you allow them to go

The challenge is not how to survive heartbreaks

But to learn from them.

To My Friends Who Are Naive

How to be in love:

Be consistent but not too persistent,

Share and never be unfair,

Understand and try not to demand,

And get hurt but never keep the pain.

To My Friends Who Are Possessive

It breaks your heart to see the one you love happy with someone else

But it’s more painful to know that the one you love is unhappy with you.

To My Friends Who Are Afraid To Confess

Love hurts when you break up with someone.

It hurts even more when someone breaks up with you.

But love hurts the most:

When the person you love has no idea how you feel about him/her.

To My Friends Who Are Still Holding On

A sad thing about life is when you meet someone and fall in love, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be, and that you have wasted years on someone who wasn’t worth it.

If that person doesn’t worth it now, it’s not going to be worth it a year or 10 years from now.

To All My Friends

My wish for you is a man/woman whose love is:

honest, strong, mature, never-changing, protective, encouraging, rewarding and unselfish.

Happy Valentine’s Day To All Of You