Location: Our Lady’s Chapel at Assumption Seminary
“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere,” to give thanks to the Father, “almighty and eternal God.” These familiar words from the preface in the liturgy remind us that every moment, every breath, is an opportunity to express gratitude. We are called to reflect on the power of love and the authority of Christ crucified – two realities that define our very existence and mission.
St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians presents us with the “hymn of love” (1 Cor 13), perhaps one of the most profound and challenging pieces of Scripture. He speaks of love not as an emotion or fleeting feeling, but as a way of life. It is “patient and kind,” not “pompous or rude.” Love, Paul reminds us, is the essential foundation of all Christian life and ministry. Without love, even the most extraordinary spiritual gifts and actions; such as prophecy, knowledge, faith that can move mountains; are nothing.
In our roles as leaders within the Church, we are entrusted with great responsibility, yet St. Paul’s words invite us to continuously examine the motive and heart behind our actions. Are we leading with love? Or do we sometimes fall into the temptation of authority without compassion, or action without charity? Nor are we expected to be constantly ecstatic about God’s grace working through our ministries. As Pope Francis has explained, “our God makes us understand that He always acts in simplicity: in the simplicity of the house of Nazareth, in the simplicity of everyday work, in the simplicity of prayer…” Our fruitfulness depends not on the size of our projects or the scope of our influence, but on how deeply we love those we serve.
The Gospel of Luke further calls us to recognize how easily we become blind to the truth of God’s love. Jesus observes how His generation was quick to reject both John the Baptist and Himself for different reasons. They accused John of being too austere, and Jesus of being too indulgent. This reveals the human tendency toward contradiction and judgment. We, too, might sometimes struggle to see God’s love at work in ways that challenge our expectations or comfort zones.
Yet, as we stand at the foot of the Cross of Christ, we are reminded that the Father’s judgment and Christ’s authority are expressed not in human power but in sacrificial love. It is at the Cross where true leadership is revealed – the leadership of love that endures all things, believes all things, and never fails.
Let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to help us recommit ourselves to this love, the love that St. Paul extols, the love that reveals Christ crucified. It is our privilege, as servants of the Church, to make this love known through our words, our actions, and our lives.
