Our Lady of Sorrows
    info@oladyofsorrows.org
    956-686-0251
    • Home
    • News
      • Weekly Bulletin
    • Homilies
      • Msgr. Gustavo Barrera
      • Dcn. Ray Thomas
      • Dcn. Johnny Gonzalez
      • Dcn. Crawford Higgins
    • About Us
      • Office Directory
      • Worship & Liturgy Schedule
      • Our Pastor
      • Photo Gallery
    • Donate
    • Sacraments
      • Baptism
      • Matrimony
      • CCD
      • RCIA
    • Ministries & Organizations
      • Adoration
      • Altar & Rosary Society
      • Altar Servers
      • Asamblea de Oracion de Matrimonios (AOM)
      • Catholic Daughters of the Americas
      • Homebound Ministry
      • JCDA
      • Choir
      • Knights of Columbus
      • Legion of Mary
      • Readers of the Word (Lectors)
      • Serra Club
      • Star of Hope
    • Faith & Spirituality Groups
      • Bereavement Support
      • Centering Prayer Group
    • Become a Parishioner
    • Funeral Information
    • Quinceañera Information
    • OLS YouTube Channel
    • School
    • Diocese of Brownsville
    • Contact Us

    5 Easter, Cycle C

    4/24/2016

     
    John 13:31-33a, 34-35

    Sounds like Jesus was getting ready to leave on a journey and He wanted to make sure that His disciples knew what He expected from them. 
     
    “I will be with you only a little while longer.”  The disciples had no idea of what was going to happen.  Good times, bad times—they laughed, they cried—but Jesus was always with them.  Something was going to end and a new adventure was about to start.  The disciples were receiving last minute instructions—a new commandment:  love one another.  No doubt that they had heard the commandment many times before.  Love was nothing new.  So why was Jesus calling the commandment new?  What was new about love?  The part with which they were unfamiliar was the extent that love was going to be shown.  Jesus knew that He was going to embrace the ultimate sacrifice for them and for all of humanity.  The disciples did not know that Jesus was going to get on His knees and wash their feet—a job that belonged to the servants.  And they never would have guessed that Our Lord, aware that Judas was going to betray Him, still allowed him in their company and even permitted him to partake of Holy Communion.  Indeed the love commandment was new when seen in the light of total acceptance—total forgivingness.  No more, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”.  The old ways were logical, easier to remember and seemed to be just.  The new commandment left everyone bewildered.  Jesus did not say, “I hope, I wish, try your best…”  He said, “I command you.”  The rules have changed.  This is how people will know that you belong to me.
     
    Uniforms, flags, bumper stickers—all help to identify us with a certain group.  We take pride in being called the mustangs, the cougars, the bloodhounds.  We decorate our cars with the insignias of the teams we want to win, especially during football season.  As the elections heat up—folks get pretty excited as to which candidate gets the nomination.  Republican, Democrat, or Independent—each person thinks that their party—their group is the most important.  Jesus had a new idea.  He said that His party—His group was going to be the least important.  His followers were going to be the servants of everybody else.
     
    We can imagine what happened the day that Jesus spoke these words.  People started to leave.  Folks had been shocked before, but this time He went too far.  Nobody took offense at all the miracles, the acts of kindness, the touching of the untouchables—as long as Jesus was doing that stuff.  However, when Jesus said that all His disciples would have to do the same—the announcement went over like a bomb.  The disciples could no longer just watch.  They could not remain at a distance, admire what Jesus did, and then go home.  The disciples had to get their hands dirty in the act of loving those whom nobody wanted to love.  A new Commandment—new to this day because we continue to be scandalized by love.  No limits, no conditions.  Love is our brand—makes us different—makes us true disciples.
     
    For us love is not just a word but a way of life—a new commandment.  Right in the middle of every relationship is Jesus Christ.  We might not like every person, but we are commanded to love them. 
      
    <<Previous
      Picture
      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera,
      ​celebrated his first Holy Mass as pastor on September 15, 2007, the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. With his enthusiasm and spiritual guidance, OLS continues to serve our Catholic family in a way that challenges us to grow as an evangelizing community.

      Archives

      February 2023
      January 2023
      December 2022
      November 2022
      October 2022
      September 2022
      August 2022
      July 2022
      June 2022
      May 2022
      April 2022
      March 2022
      February 2022
      January 2022
      November 2020
      October 2020
      September 2020
      August 2020
      July 2020
      June 2020
      May 2020
      April 2020
      March 2020
      February 2020
      January 2020
      December 2019
      November 2019
      October 2019
      September 2019
      July 2019
      June 2019
      May 2019
      April 2019
      March 2019
      February 2019
      January 2019
      December 2018
      November 2018
      October 2018
      September 2018
      August 2018
      July 2018
      June 2018
      May 2018
      April 2018
      March 2018
      February 2018
      January 2018
      December 2017
      November 2017
      October 2017
      September 2017
      August 2017
      June 2017
      May 2017
      April 2017
      March 2017
      February 2017
      January 2017
      December 2016
      November 2016
      October 2016
      September 2016
      August 2016
      July 2016
      June 2016
      May 2016
      April 2016
      March 2016
      February 2016
      January 2016
      December 2015
      November 2015
      October 2015
      September 2015
      August 2015
      July 2015
      June 2015
      May 2015
      April 2015
      March 2015

      Msgr. Gustavo Barrera, Pastor.

      Categories

      All

      RSS Feed

    About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Office Directory
    • Stewardship
    • Pastor
    • Our History
    Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • First Reconciliation
    • First Communion
    • Confirmation
    • Marriage
    • Anointing of the Sick
    Parish Life
    1. Become a Parishioner
    2. Bulletin & Newsletters
    3. Planning Center Log-in​
    Worship and Liturgy
    • Daily Readings
    • Liturgy of Hours
    • Mass & Reconciliation
    • Eucharistic Adoration
    Faith Formation
    • CCD
    • RCIA​
    Links & Resources
    • CDOB
    • USCCB
    • Vatican: Holy See
    • American Catholic
    More
    • Homilies
    • Online Giving
    • OLS School
    • OLS on YouTube
    Our Lady of Sorrows Parish
    1108 W Hackberry Ave.
    McAllen, Texas 78501-4370
    Telephone
    : (956) 686-0251
    Picture
    Picture

    Website Development by The Parish Solutions Company
    Our Lady of Sorrow Image Copyright Cromo NB permission to use by CNB Basevi.
    Back to top