Still With Us

Happy Mother’s Day to all. A few days ago, I was watching the nightly news, and at the end of the segment, the anchor went out into Central Park to ask a few kids about Mother’s Day. He asked them why we celebrate our moms and what they were preparing to do for the day. Finally, he asked them what word best describes their moms. One child said, “kind.” Another said, “caring.” One kid though responded, “stressed.” I bet he’ll never hear the end of that.

Whether as kids or as adults, at some point we all realize that our moms aren’t perfect. But we love and appreciate them anyway: because they love us, and they do their best for us, to nurture us, to teach us, to support us – no matter how old or gray we might get. So much of what we experience and how we see the world is shaped by what our moms have given us, how they have formed us, how they have made us who we are. That’s why we can say truthfully that they are always with us. No matter how physically separated we are from them – even when they pass from this world and await us in the next – they are with us.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses similar language to describe God’s fidelity and love. We are used to thinking of God in masculine terms, because that is how he has revealed himself to us: a Trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But we might also say that God’s love exhibits many of the same traits as those we admire in our mothers, only to a far greater extent. Even more than our mothers, God has formed us and given us life; he nurtures, teaches, and supports us; and he desires to be so connected to us as to always be with us. In fact, as we hear Jesus tell us today, God’s love is such that he gives his very self to those who believe in him, such that he dwells in them and they in him.

Jesus lays out how this works at the Last Supper, the context for our passage today. He explains to the disciples that he is about to go away from them, to enter into his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. At the same time, those very same events – what we call the Paschal Mystery – also become the means by which he remains with his disciples. We say that our mothers are with us always because of their profound influence on us, but God, because of his all-powerful love, actually does remain with those who love him. The proof of that love, Jesus explains today, is following his commandments. If we follow what Jesus has taught us, God reveals everything of himself to us and dwells within us by means of the Holy Spirit.

The Supper (19th cent.), Sebastian Winterhalder Workshop, Germany

Notice the clear causal connection: in order to receive this gift of God with us, we must love the Lord, and this is shown by being faithful to his commandments. In other words, loving Jesus is not primarily about having any particular sentiment; it’s about what we *do* – the way we live, and the purpose and intention for how we live. This is the most important reason to obey the precepts of our faith, to follow the teachings of the Church, and to strive to be more faithful each day – not because we make ourselves holy by following commandments, but because the Lord has promised *he* will make us holy if we do. He will give us the Spirit, who will enlighten us further on how we are to live, and he will dwell within us, giving us a share in his life that goes beyond the grave.

We give thanks for our mothers today, and rightly so. We think about the ways they have shaped us, and we recommit ourselves to doing our best to living out what they have taught us. The same should be true of us in relationship with God, only to a far greater extent. The Lord Jesus promised not to leave us orphans, but to remain with us, if we remain faithful to him. If he were asked to describe in one word how well we are living out his commandments, what would it be? “Well-intentioned”, “inconsistent,” “stressed”? Let’s strive today, as best as we can, to live out his commandments perfectly, proving our love for him anew each day, knowing that he will do his part – sending forth the Holy Spirit to give us peace, encouragement, and love.

Friends, as we prepare to receive the Sacrament of the Altar, we recognize that in the celebration of this mystery, the Paschal Mystery becomes present anew – and so too the Lord himself comes to be with us. Following his commandment to do this in memory of him, may we become aware of how his words are fulfilled in this very Sacrament: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”