Sixth Sunday of Easter
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
MP3 Homily: Heroic Love
I know a woman in her seventies who has worked for years as a rectory cook. This woman, Maria, is a fabulous cook. But this is not what I admire most about her. You see, Maria, became a single mom when her children were very young. Her husband ran off with a younger women leaving his wife and offspring alone. Like so many single moms, Maria picked up the pieces of the family’s shattered dreams and did her best to raise the children. Years later in a strange twist of irony, her husband contracted cancer and his younger partner walked out on him. As the cancer grew worse, it became clear that the man was not going to live long. In an act of love beyond all reasoning, Maria took this broken man back into her house and cared for him until his last breath.
Now this is a true story of heroic love. It should be held up as a tangible sign of the graces which flow from the Sacrament of Marriage. Yet, we must realize that this is a particular case. It is not always possible or prudent to welcome your civilly divorced spouse back into your home. In Maria’s case, it was the loving thing to do. This women took seriously her vows even to the point of heroism!
Jesus commands us in the Gospel to “love one another as I have loved you.” God is love. He is the essence of all that is true, beautiful, and good. Jesus, who is the God-Man, is the complete Revelation of the Divine to the world. Christ shows us what true heroic love is in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. When we study the life of Jesus and come to an intimate knowledge of Him, we begin to understand agape love. It is this self-sacrificing love that is willing to suffer for the other even if they do not deserve it.
As we come to experience this heroic love more and more we gain a model to follow in our own lives. Everyone whether married, clergy, or religious is called to love as God and to be holy. The second reading explains this as beginning to truly “know God”. The example is placed before us in the life and Passion of Christ. This is what we must do in our marriages and daily life. The Sacrament of Marriage is an invitation to self-sacrifice. It encourages us and teaches us to lay down our lives for the other.
Chosen for love
Maria was chosen and responded to the call to love radically. In a world of infidelity, she showed a reverence for her marriage vows. This was done in the most ironic and heroic way by caring for the man who abandoned the family.
Most of us may not be called to such a visible heroic act of love. However, we are called to quietly love and forgive our spouse and family. This can reach self-sacrificing proportions in the ordinary daily living of our vows and commitments.
Marriage and all our commitments are meant to be a challenge to grow in holiness. Often times these obligations will take all that we have to offer. Giving totally as Jesus did on the cross, we find that we too rise again as better people. Our vocation prepares us to live in the selfless union of heaven. There we will experience the fidelity of God who brings to completion His plan of communion: The marriage of all people in the Trinity for all eternity!