Princes and Princesses

Although St. Silouan the Staretz advised not reading newspapers in order to better focus on the spiritual ascent, I admit to looking some at news online.  I used to never until recently, and yes, I do pray for the various situations and people involved.  So it is that I noticed a prince is engaged to a lovely young woman, a soon-to-be-princess.  The world seems caught up in the royal romance, flames fanned by the media.

Last evening as I watched video clips of an interview with the couple, then finished waking thoughts by reading more in St. Francis de Sales' Treatise on the Love of God, I fell asleep wondering the worth of time spent watching the video clips.  Should I have not?  Was it a distraction?  I prayed not but felt the loss of that chunk of present moments never to return.

This morning while readying for early Mass the thought of princes and princesses recurred.  On the way to the Cathedral, yes, remaining in Christ, I realized that women who remain in Christ's love are true princesses to our Divine Prince, and men who remain in Christ's love are true princes of Christ the King. 

If we could fathom that we are genderless souls, we could simply revel in being His spouse.  But the romantic aspects of being true princesses and princes works well since we are in our bodies on earth and know of such royal possibilities from childhood fairy tales to real-life media publicized icons.

So we (if women) are princesses to Jesus our Prince, and we maintain ourselves outwardly and inwardly as royalty ought.  Our Prince loves us exceedingly and protects us from harm.  He woos us and delights in our desire to be with Him always, never leaving His side, enrapt in His heart. We look to our Prince in all that we think, say and do.  He is our one love, and as royalty we live the role destined us, to be united to our Prince, living happily ever after in His Kingdom, and doing His bidding, help to make His Kingdom and all in it a glorious realm.

So we (if men) are princes to Christ our King.  We maintain ourselves outwardly and inwardly as royalty ought.  Our King teaches us to follow in His footsteps, to defend the Kingdom of God, to love and protect all within His realm.  He is pleased immeasurably with our desire to learn of Him and to serve Him in all we think, say and do.  We devote ourselves in love to His honor and glory.  As royalty we live the role destined us, to be loyal and united to our King, our sovereign Lord, living nobly within His Kingdom, doing His bidding to make His Kingdom and all in it a glorious realm.

Well, something like this, and more, of course. Today I pondered the romance, love, nobility, loyalty, decorum, and beauty of princesses and princes of the Kingdom of God.  I thought of Hildegarde de Bingen, called a saint by Pope John Paul II although her cause did not progress beyond Blessed, several centuries ago.  He called her a saint, and she is vox et populi a saint.  

Hildegarde and her religious sisters were quite the scandal in her day.  They dressed in flowing, gossamer gowns and wore floral crowns in their hair.  They danced, they sang, while Hildegarde the saint in their Medieval monastery played a lap harp. 

Hildegarde's was a mystic, a poet, an herbalist, artist, composer and musician.  She had supernatural graces of healing and prophecy besides being beloved of the country folk and at least a cleric and prelate to defend her against the opposition--mostly men and women religious of other monasteries who lived their lives in utter austerity in a time period already dank and dreary with hardships.

Hildegarde and her sisters were not up-ended by their critics' misunderstanding the joyful living and supernatural realities occurring in the Medieval monastery overlooking the Rhine.  They prayed and worshiped, worked hard, suffered persecution (at one point not allowed to sing), and loved Jesus and the Holy Catholic Church to which they'd avowed themselves for life. They were brides of Christ, after all, and why not exist then, as brides of the King of Kings? 

Whether princesses or princes, something of the reality of Christ--our Prince, Beloved, Lord and King--ought shimmer through our lives in every present moment.  It is beginning to happen to those of us blessed in learning to remain in His love and to obey His command to love others as He loves us.  Yes, as He loves us, and He does love us, definitely, infinitely.  It is His joy that enters our souls, making joy complete. 

Perhaps it is this reality of remaining in Christ and the shimmering joy that causes those who know us to balk, for I've had some people balk when they ask how I'm doing, and I am able to respond in more than happiness, but in joy, that my life has turned around and around, upside down, inside out in deep conversion. 

Two persons called today, and each seemed themselves and could not fathom my difference.  One commented that I do seem happy. I said I remain in His love, and His joy dwells in me and makes my joy complete.  I tried to explain, but the caller was in a hurry to run errands.  The other was wary and said had looked up the verses in John but they were not there. But of course they are there, and I repeated them once more. But being Catholic and the other not, suspicion hinted that somehow I was making it all up from some wrong kind of Bible.

Well, we princesses and princes can remain in Christ's love, spiritually happily ever after.  The world remains the world, and we pray to make a difference, to lovingly touch souls living and dead within the love of our Prince, our Beloved, our Christ the King to whom we are espoused. He chooses ears to listen, who will respond, through us or through others.  Not the wary nor critics can dampen the spirit of princesses and princes in love.

More Verses: Jesus Promises

In the following scripture, Jesus reveals astounding realities of what will occur when we remain in His love and obey His commands.  He is lifting us to the supernatural realities of His promises to us who believe, remain in His love, and obey His command to love one another as He loves us.  

These promises seem unreal or beyond what we could experience in actuality.  But what He speaks is truth.  Remaining in His love, loving as He loves, we also remain in His will.  We will live His truths given us, bequeathed, now and for ever.  Remain in His love, in Christ, in every present moment! 

John 16:12-15  'But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.'

Jesus promises the holy Spirit of truth who will guide us to actual truth.  He adds the grace of prophetic understanding, that which is coming.  The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by repeating what the Father and the Son desire for us to know.  What is to be declared to us?  Is it the truth of God's love and will? 

John 16:22-24  'So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete.

Yes we are now in distress due to our physical straits living in this world of challenges, some temporal but also the spiritual challenge of faith, of belief, of  understanding Christ's love.  But Jesus promises again that we will see Him again!  Yes, as in when we remain in His love, for it is in His love we see His glory, participate in His joy that becomes our joy.  

We need not ask questions when we remain in His love because His love is all answers.  His love is His will and His will is His love.  Remaining in His love, we remain in His will, and whatever could be asked from within His love and will, is given us.  His name is love. What is given us?  His love and His will!  This is fullness of joy, to be in Christ's love and His will, now and forever!

John 16:30-33  Jesus answered them, 'Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.'

Well, do we believe now?  Jesus speaks not only to His disciples then, when He walked the earth, but He speaks to us now in the present moments of our bodies and souls.  Temporally we are physically and mentally scattered amidst daily work, study, and recreation.  We are temporally and even spiritually distracted if we sway in our human wills and depart from remaining in His love.  For His love is His will...and His truth, and His truth is His will and His love.  

But no matter our scattered bodies and wills, Christ and the Father are infinitely one in the loving holy Spirit of truth.  Jesus repeats that we can have peace in Him. Remaining in the world begets troubles.   

Remain in Him!  Remain in His love! Jesus' love has conquered the world.  If we remain in His love, we love. His love gives us courage to live.  In His love is His will and His truth.  The troubles of this life pass away, are vanquished.

Remain in Christ's Love in the Present Moments

We report some remaining in Jesus' love experiences.  "Adel" comments: Prayed about remaining in Jesus' Love and was very good again. Been offering up my upset from one of the kids, and praying about remaining in His Love, and the sea is calming, every time I pray about remaining in His Love. It really does work. 

Last night, we went to [city], and [spouse] found another car for [daughter] to drive, and I was very nervous. and praying staying in His Love helped. Anyway, also prayed and thought of staying or remaining in His Love all day today. Was very beautiful, and makes a difference in the day. It makes you feel like you are always loved, always watched, and NEVER  left alone.

"Leah" writes: Remaining in His Love is just so joyful I can't help but sporadically break out in smiles. I had to start taking some of my medications again this week and was afraid of the side effects, but I just keep asking Jesus to allow me to
Remain in His Love and it is amazing. 

I have also gone to daily Mass a few times this week, and Monday the reading was exactly what we read on Saturday out of John. I feel like my focus during Mass is better and I am just loving it all.

"Colette" shares: Another day of remaining in His love. In remaining in Christ, for me it is a state of mind as I say and do things and when I am by myself.  Strong sense when I drove [elderly parishioner] to sewing yesterday, and at sewing.   It is a sense of being Christ for others.  Today I will be alone, so it may be different. 
  

Today I wrote to my spiritual director, asking about the insight I've had, remaining in Christ's love, that remaining in His love is also remaining in His will, that His love is His will and His will is His love.  I cannot think of any situation in which God's love would not be His will, or in which His will would not be His love.  I'll report back, as the s. d. is the theological final word around here. 

Began reading St. Francis de Sales' Treatise on the Love of God.  It came to me, remaining in His love, that the Irish Da and I should read this book, so visited him the other day and took the extra copy.  If we read 15 pages per day, we will be finished by Christmas.  However, last night I could not stop at 15.  I prayed prior for Jesus to help me remain in His love while reading the book.  Made for a glorious reading experience!  Yes, we must call upon the Lord Jesus in all we say and do, for we desire to remain in His love always.

The Da and I spoke of this the other day.  We realized how loving it is to repeat the Beloved's name, to ask for His help, or to call out letting Him know we are right there, remaining in His love. The Da mentioned abide in His love.  

Abide comes from the archaic bide which means to remain or stay somewhere.  Abide means to accept or act in accordance with a rule, decision or recommendation.  It also means (as in a feeling or memory) to continue without fading or being lost.  The archaic meaning is to live or dwell in.  These all assist in our understanding, although remain has more extensive meanings and is used in current New American Bible translations.

Regardless, we surely know how beautifully loved we feel when others call upon us in their need, or repeat our names, telling us that they are with us or desire to remain with us, to stay with us!  Can we fathom how Jesus feels when we think of Him in every present moment, call upon His love, ask for help in remaining in His love, tell Him we desire this union of love now and forever?

This morning the Gospel read at Mass (Luke 6:27-38) expresses Jesus asking us to love and pray for our enemies.  Jesus tells us: "You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked."  

During the homily another insight filtered in while remaining in Jesus' love.  If we remain in Christ's love, our needs are fulfilled, for our souls are fulfilled.  What more could we desire in this life or the next than to remain now and forever in Christ's love?  For in His love we are in His will, and in His will we have all necessary by remaining in His love.  This is the great reward: to be in union with Christ.  We will be sons of the Most High.  We will be called His friends.  We will be children of God.  We will be His espoused! 

We are discovering throughout Scripture--Old Testament, Psalms, and New Testament--that the call to remain in Christ's love is figured and prefigured, substantiated through and through.  This, from the First Letter of John:  We have passed out of death and into life, and of this we can be sure because we love our brothers. If you refuse to love, you must remain dead....This has taught us love--that he gave up his life for us; and we, too, ought to give up our lives for our brothers....My children, our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active.

 Yes, something real and active.  This is very real, remaining in His love.  And it is active.  To remain in Christ's love means to be in His will, and we begin to love with His love according to His will.  We are flowing out from the stream of living water from which our thirst is quenched by His love.  We are united in His love as we know now and how to remain in His love.  If there is any thirst, it is His thirst for souls.

Let us be alert to what Jesus wills as we remain in His love.  For as we remain in His love, we will love as He loves.  We may be surprised in His love.  Where does His love (with us remaining in His love) flow?  In what ways, in every present moment, will we (remaining in Christ's love) love others as He loves us?  Expect the unexpected! Remain in His love, to love!

  

Prevailing Verses: Remain in My Love

From John 15:1-8 we read Jesus' visually beautiful metaphor:  'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.  

'Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.'

Jesus means what He says.  If we remain in Him [thus in His love] and we allow Him to remain in us, we will bear holy goodness in word and deed, in our souls and lives.  Without Jesus we can do nothing of true and lasting worth.  If we do not remain in His love and obey His command to love one another, we cut ourselves off from the source of God's love, the truth, the way, the life.  If we remain in Christ and allow Him, His words, His love, to remain in us, we are in His will.  Ask then, and we shall receive all that He wills.  We glorify God when we remain in Christ, bearing good fruit, learning, living in Him in every present moment.

'Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither, people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.'

The following are the prevailing verses [emboldened] in which Jesus clarifies the process by which we are to remain in His love and obey His command. 

John 15:9  'As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.'

John 15:11-14  'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.'

Imagine Jesus' joy being in us, and our joy being complete.  Who in any life, in any time period, in any present moment would not want Jesus' joy: complete joy?  Jesus has explained repeatedly, simply, how to remain in His love, to obey His command to love one another as He loves us.  He laid down His live for us, His friends.

John 15:16-17  'It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go out and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.'

 Jesus chooses us--has chosen us!  He appointed us to live our lives saying and doing that which is good and will remain.  What is all good and remains forever?  God's loving will.  If we remain in His love and obey His command to love one another, what we ask is given for we ask from within His loving will.  Let Jesus' words dwell in and absorb us!

Remain in His Love Reinforcement

Praise be to God, remaining in His love!  Reports come in from various members of the Body of Christ:  Remaining in His love is being actualized in their lives!  Some report joy in suffering.  Another shares spontaneously breaking into smiles, remaining in His love.  Others notice deeper attentiveness during Mass and note from Scripture many references to remain in Jesus' love.

This is about union with Christ.  Yet some mention challenges to remaining in His love, or experience some darkness or upset.  How can this be?  Are we not persevering in the desire of our hearts, simply doing as Jesus asks:  Remain in My love?  The desire for His light soon reminds us.  With a prayer, calling upon the Lord Jesus in present moments, we are brought back into His beautiful, bounteous, breath-taking love.

I awoke the other night being reminded of a hurt.  I thought about it briefly.  Then another thought entered, a frustration.  A third agitation followed, and I realized the mind was invaded negative thoughts threatening to disrupt my soul.  Lying in the darkness, already wounded by these thoughts, I repeated aloud two or three times, "Lord Jesus, help me remain in Your love."  I drifted back into sleep.  Demonic dreams were contrasted by a vivid scene in which I was given a beautiful male infant to hold in my arms.  Then I was given a bottle to feed him.  The love, the closeness, the pure innocence of this baby filled the dream.  Upon waking, the demonic aspects faded from sheer dynamism and light of the sweet infant sequence.  

Thanking God for the gift of remaining in His love, it came to me that the dream consisted of two lessons.  One is that the devil would like to impose dark thoughts or make any attempt to disrupt us from remaining in Christ's love.  He is not pleased when we return over and over to Christ, asking to remain in His love no matter the stumbling.  The devil tries in our waking or sleeping to keep us from remaining in His love.  The other lesson so vivid in the dream is that Jesus gives Himself as an innocent baby, wanting us to hold Him tight, wanting us to feed Him with love.  His love becomes Our love when we simply remain in His love.

If this seems simplistic or a gimmick--to learn and practice remaining in Christ's love--or if the effects seem silly, read the verses of St. John's Gospel, chapters 13-17.  Or, as the renouned Scripture scholar Rudolf Schnackenburg writes in Jesus in the Gospels: A Biblical Christology (p. 251):  "Through the gift of life the one who was sent by God already brings a turning point in the present (John 5:25)*; through him and in him a new possibility of life is revealed and an approach to God opened (John 14:6-7)**."  This is truth!

We must be attentive to the thoughts that enter our minds, as well as repeatedly turn to the Lord Jesus for help in remaining in His love.   Reinforcement of this is found in the writings of St. Hesychios the Priest (8th or 9th century) "On Watchfulness and Holiness" in The Philokalia.

"We should strive to preserve the precious gifts which preserve us from all evil, whether on the plane of the senses or that of the intellect.  These gifts are the guarding of the intellect with the invocation of Jesus Christ, continuous insight into the heart's depths, stillness of mind unbroken.... In this way the demons will not steal in undetected; and if we suffer pain through remaining centered in the heart, consolation is at hand.

"The heart which is constantly guarded, and is not allowed to receive the forms, images and fantasies of the dark and evil spirits, is conditioned by nature to give birth from within itself to thoughts filled with light.  For just as coal engenders a flame, or a flame lights a candle, so will God, who from our baptism dwells in our heart, kindle our mind to contemplation when He finds it free from the winds of evil and protected by the guarding of the intellect."

Borrowing St. Hesychios' simile, we should pray to Jesus to help us to remain in His love, "repeating over and over in the heart as flashes of lightning are repeated over and over in the sky before rain."

And as many of us have found, who have been learning and practicing remaining in Christ's love, "all the sins which formerly beat upon the intellect as thoughts and which, once admitted by the mind, were turned into outward acts of sin, are not cut off by mental watchfulness."  For Jesus Christ does not allow the dark thoughts to enter our minds and hearts, our very souls, if we remain in His illuminating love.


"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings and soar aloft through the power of the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31).  

"As you sail across the sea of the intellect, put your trust in Jesus, for secretly in your heart He says: 'Fear not, my child Jacob, the least of Israel; fear not, you worm Israel, I will protect you' (cf. Isa 41:13-14).  If God is for us, what evil one is against us (Rom. 8:31)?  For He has blessed the pure of heart and given the commandments; and so Jesus who alone is truly pure, in a divine way readily enters into hearts that are pure and dwells in them....But let [the soul] not tire in calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, day and night until the time of its departure from this mortal life, and He will speedily avenge it in accordance with the promise He Himself made...."

Let us persevere in learning and practicing remaining in His love.  Why do some not seem interested if we tell them about the very transformations of our souls from simply remaining in His love?  Perhaps it is because they are already in His love?  Or perhaps it has to do with our desiring something more than what we were experiencing with our life trials and sluggish souls.  Something was missing in our spiritual lives, and the dearth deepened into darkness.

So it has to do with our great need, our desire, our now knowing to believe in Jesus as the one sent by the Father to bring light, to remove us from this darkness.  He has come to lead His own, those who believe in Him of His Body, who desire His love, ask His help, obey His command to love one another as He loves us.  He is light come to people into God's sphere of light and life (Jesus in the Gospels, p. 250).

Let us never cease believing, desiring, praying, obeying in love His command, and simply to remain in His love.

John 5:25 - "Amen, Amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."

John 14:6-7 - "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'"
 

More Verses: Jesus Explains Himself

In these next verses, Jesus explains that He loves His own, meaning those who believe in Him, the Body of Christ, those God gives to Him to love.  This love He gives us, as given from God, is eternal--was, is, and shall be.  Jesus also tells us He has given us a model to follow, which is Himself, how He lives and loves.  We are to do as He does.

John 13:1b  He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

John 13:15  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

Jesus reminds that this is so: If we receive Jesus, believe and remain in His love, we receive the one who sent Him, which is God the Father.  When Jesus sends us for souls, whoever receives us who are remaining in His love, receives Jesus.  This responsibility of remaining in His love heightens when we realize that Jesus sends us out to bring Him to souls, so that others may receive Jesus through us who remain in Him.

John 13:20  'Amen, amen I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.'

Jesus iterates His command to love others as He has loved us.  This is requisite so that others will know that we belong to Jesus, that we remain in His love and are sent by Him for souls.  All will know, Jesus says.  They will know that we belong to Him, are His devoted, personal students--His followers--if we love one another.

John 13: 34-35   I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.'

Jesus now explains the vast encompassment of God's realm, His kingdom come.  There is a place for each soul in God, through His Son's preparation of our souls.  Believe in Jesus, remain in His love, obey His command of love.  He takes us unto Himself now and forever.  Where He is, we will be also.  We will know the way of love.  How?  By remaining in His love (God is love), we will know. Love encompasses us all about.  

John 14:2- 4  'In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.'

Jesus continues His explanation.  We can only come to the Father through knowing Jesus.  This means to have a personal relationship, understanding, observation, and familiarity with Jesus.  How?  Through the Sacraments, Scripture, prayer, sheer belief, and remaining in His love.  He tells us that now, in this present moment, and henceforth, we know the Father as well as Jesus.  Believe!  His way is truth and life.
 

John 14:6-14  Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'...'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father?" Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

Jesus speaks and does what the Father tells and does in Him.  They are one.  He seriously means for us to believe that He and the Father are one in being.  Next Jesus explains that if we believe in Him (and thus remain in His love and obey His command to love others as He loves us) that we will be empowered to do the works that He does, and even greater works since He is going to the Father.  This is a matter of doing the Lord's will, for if we believe in Him we remain in His love, and we love others from within His love, as He loves.  We become united in His love, and His love is His will, and His will is love, which is one with the Father as well.

'The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.'

Of course, if we remain in Jesus' love, we will keep His commandments because Jesus' love is His will and His will is His love.  Therefore, Jesus promises thus to give us the Spirit of truth, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit to always be with us, and we will know the Spirit because it will be in us.  If we remain in His love and keep His commands...promise in truth.

John 14:15-21  'If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. 

Do we see this truth?  The Holy Spirit will dwell in us and help us see and live this truth.  We are not alone even if those in the world do not grasp.  We are not alone.  Jesus lives in us now and forever, and the Father and us are in Christ, and He is us.  All we must do is believe, obey His commands, and remain in His love.  Jesus loves and reveals Himself to us.  Believe!

'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in me and I in you. 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.'

Now we learn that if we remain in Jesus' love, and keeps His word, His commands, Jesus and His Father will love and come to dwell in us.  If we do not remain in His love, we will not on our own be able to keep His word or commands because His love is His will.  In His love, remaining in His love, we will be able to keep His word, His command, as we will be in His will, for this is not only Jesus' word or promise, but the Father's who sent Him to explain to us this and more.

John 14:23-24  Jesus answered and said to him, 'Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.'

And who will teach us this and more when Jesus is not physically with us?  Jesus says the Father will send the Holy Spirit of truth, in Jesus' name, as Advocate, to not only teach us everything but also to remind us of all that Jesus told in His word.  He explained this to His believers when on earth, and now they and we may believe because we have seen all He taught lived out through Scripture and in the lives of the saints living before us.  They believed in Him, remained in His love, obeyed His command to love one another as He did.
 

John 14:25-  'I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you....And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.'

Do we believe now?  If not, what more will it take?

A Little Mention of Present Moments

Some who are learning and practicing remaining in Jesus' love, report experiences.  One found that she had not prayed for Jesus' help nor practiced remaining in His love, only to discover four days of dark ugliness in her life.  She awoke one morning and realized the problem, prayed, practiced remaining in His love.  Yes, we must not cease practice, living, loving, remaining in His love.

Another wrote to say she remained in His love while a bird flew about her kitchen!  Her spouse had not repaired a broken attic window, and the bird made its descent to the ground floor.  Remaining in His love, she went to the attic to tape cardboard, sealing the opening.  So far, so good!  Then teen-age twin sons rattled around, and the mother began to slip from within His love.  She immediately sensed and returned to Jesus by remaining in His love.

Yesterday morning I awoke, wondering if this was just a game of sorts, for it seems so simple and childish in some ways.  Again I asked, "Will all these wondrous effects continue, remaining in Your love?"  I was shown the doubts are the devil's way, among other tricks, to coax me from within His love.  This love, all the effects, and more beyond my human belief, shall continue in every present moment throughout eternity.  Remain in Christ's love.

The first confession while remaining in His love was beautiful!  How sorry I am that I have not practiced or learned to remain in His love all these years.  I, too, have read and heard His words, asking me, telling me, explaining to me how and why to remain in His love...but did not understand to simply believe in Him, ask to remain in His love, obey His command to love others as He loves me.  I also am remorseful that I have not praised Him in His love.  But it is in remaining in His love that praise of God becomes loving praise!  It is a praise beyond human praise because it is praise from within His love.

Last night I realized by remaining in His love, not only is there loving praise, but His will is in His love.  We are in His will when we remain in His love, for His will is His love.  I cannot explain this further at this point.  His will is in His love.  Perhaps there may be more understanding as I learn and practice remaining in His love, pondering that His will is in His love and His love is in His will.

But now to share another point by way of example.  A friend e-mailed of going to a Mass in which pre-conciliar council modes were enacted: more Latin than English, no handshake at sign of peace, and Communion only on the tongue and not the hand.  So I responded:

Fussing over externals must not ruffle remaining in His love.  Histrionic preaching, Communion in mouth not hand are externals that prove not interior conversion of heart, but we know to respect the Church, all the same.  Externals may augment the inner conversions unless they become the focus. Remaining in His love, the heart is refreshed.  Hand or mouth, either way: that we receive Christ's Body and believe in Him, obey His commands, remain in His love, love others as He loves us--this is what He wants.  

Externals can become a tremendous distraction, but we understand why people turn to them. The simple remaining in His love, is so simple that it may not seem "enough".  We humans tend to want more control, see and feel external signs, when Jesus repeats and explains repeatedly in His Word: Remain in My love. Receiving His love, His Body and Blood, receiving His forgiveness in confession, the soul is transformed.  Remaining in His love, dwelling in His word, obeying His command to love one another, the soul is transformed.  

My smile ministry might offend some who believe that we should enter with head down or never look at others to smile.  Yet I continue being a silent porter of the Church, unobtrusively welcoming all who enter by a smile. If they do not catch the smile, I pray love to them from within His love and touch their hearts with His love: magnified with me in Him and with all the souls who remain in His love, of the Body of Christ, living and dead.  So they receive His love, are touched, whether they know it or not.  

For a group to not allow a sign of peace, or to say receive only by mouth not hand, are externals not in obedience or unity with the Church in our present times.  We must ask Jesus if He would not touch those He loves, those of His own Body, in a greeting of loving kindness?  Did Jesus allow His beloved disciple to rest his head on Jesus' breast during the Last Supper, at the institution of the Eucharist?

We remain in Jesus' love and obey unity in the Church. If we are where those in charge insist on their own externals, we must simply remain in His love.  We know we may take the peace of His love and go "to the next place" where the environment is respectful and liturgically conformed to the Church's simple gestures of His love.

For now Holy Mother Church says to offer greeting and handshake during Mass as sign of peace. Have compassion for those who desire Christ yet, perhaps mistakenly, believe He is better found through external austerity, when He is simply found by remaining in His love.

I think you totally comprehend how simple it is to remain in His love.  Then the externals are not an issue, rather loving comprehension, all the better to ponder Jesus' ways of love.  He touched in love.  He spoke in native Aramaic so people understood his words. He repeated over and over the pleas and explanations to "remain in My love" and to love one another--not just those we love but love of our enemies.  Who are our enemies?  Are they those who live separated from the love of God? Touch them, remaining in His love!

Pray for all who want Him so very much and yet seek Him in personal exclusion, in other than simple acts of love. No need to be outlandish during Mass--but a simple loving handshake does not disrespect Christ!  It is His touch if we are remaining in His love!  It is His touch that touches another in the sign of peace--not a disrespect or disruption of the Mass.  It glorifies the Mass to remain in His love.  Do you see?  I am sure you do.   

But a profound insight for today, thus far, is pondering that His love is His will and His will is His love.   When we remain in His love we thus remain in His will.

Love how St. Paul in this morning's Word, his letter to Philemon, exclaimed, "Refresh my heart!"  Our hearts and others' hearts are refreshed when we remain in His love.