Each of us was created for one purpose: love. When that becomes the focal point of one’s life, then life itself takes on an entirely new meaning. To love and to be loved – this is the highest calling of life. And if God is love, then our first task is to love him first and foremost.
Of course, love is always a two-way exchange. This is certainly most tangible in the case in human relationships, but it is also true of our relationship with the Lord. The more we love God, the more he reveals himself to us. But what does this exchange look like? We love God through prayer, worship, keeping his commandments and living our lives in a way that honors him. God loves us through the many blessings he bestows on us in our lives and through the sacraments he’s given us, the principal of which is his son in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
On May 23, we will once be able to reencounter God’s love in communion with one another at the celebration of the Eucharist. The words Christ spoke to his apostles at the Last Supper are much more than just a command; they are a proclamation of his and the Father’s love for his children. That love is made manifest each week when we gather for the Mass. It is our chance to lay the struggles and trials we each experience at the foot of the altar and allow the consoling love of God to wash over us.
The Lord has been eagerly awaiting your return. He delights at the opportunity to show you how much he loves you by offering you the greatest gift the world has ever known: himself. He welcomes you with the loving embrace of a father seeking his lost child, and you can be sure he’ll hold on tightly. We hope these articles will remind you of just how much God loves you.
For more information about the return to Mass, visit archden.org/return.