VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bringing joy to others is the Christian’s mission, and it requires remaining in God’s love, living his commandments and loving without measure, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.
“We Christians — lay, priests, consecrated, bishops — must give joy to the people” because of the selfless love shown first by Christ, he said May 18 in his homily during Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from John (15:9-11), in which Jesus tells his disciples: “As the father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love” by keeping his commandments.
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The list of Jesus’ commandments is “very large,” the pope said, but it all comes down to one thing: “the father’s love for his son and his love for us.”
The world, on the other hand, offers other kinds of love like “the love of money, for example, the love of vanity, showing off, the love of pride, power, even doing lots of unjust things to have more power,” he said.
God’s love, however, is infinite, which shows that people must love without measure, too, the pope said. Selfish or “lukewarm” love, “to love halfway, this is not loving.”
“Jesus teaches us the path of love — an open heart, loving without measure, leaving aside other kinds of love,” he said.
In the Gospel passage, Jesus said the reason people should remain in his love is “so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
“Our Christian mission is to give joy to the people,” the pope said, and that is accomplished following “the way of love, with no self-interest, only the way of love.”
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