Meditation of the day: deep love dispels fear

Jesus told his disciples: "The Son of man must suffer a lot and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, be killed and be resurrected on the third day." Luke 9:22 Jesus knew he would suffer a lot, be rejected and killed. How would you handle that knowledge if you somehow knew about your future? Most people would be filled with fear and become obsessed with trying to avoid it. But not our Lord. This passage above shows how intent he was in embracing his cross with unwavering confidence and courage. This is just one of the many times that Jesus began to break the news to his disciples of his impending doom. And whenever he spoke in this way, the disciples for the most part remained silent or denied. We recall, for example, one of these reactions of St. Peter when he answered Jesus' prediction of his passion by saying: “God forbid, Lord! Nothing like that will ever happen to you ”(Matthew 16:22).

Reading this passage above, our Lord's strength, courage, and determination shine forth from the fact that he speaks so clearly and definitively. And what drives Jesus to speak with such conviction and courage is his love. Too often, "love" is understood as a strong and beautiful feeling. It is perceived as an attraction to something or a strong liking for it. But this is not love in its truest form. True love is a choice to do what's best for another, no matter the cost, no matter how hard it is. True love is not a feeling that seeks selfish fulfillment. True love is an unshakable force that seeks only the good of the loved one. Jesus' love for humanity was so strong that he was pushed towards his imminent death with great power. He was firmly determined to sacrifice his life for all of us and there was nothing that would ever dissuade him from that mission. In our life, it's easy to lose sight of what true love is. We can easily get caught up in our selfish desires and think that these desires are love. But they are not. Reflect today on our Lord's unshakable determination to love us all in a sacrificial way by suffering much, enduring rejection and dying on the Cross. Nothing would ever dissuade him from this love. We must show the same sacrificial love. Prayer: My loving Lord, I thank you for your unwavering commitment to sacrifice yourself for all of us. I thank you for this unfathomable depth of true love. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to get away from all forms of selfish love to imitate and participate in Your most perfect sacrificial love. I love you, dear Lord. Help me to love you and others with all my heart. Jesus I believe in you.