Unconditional Love...

March 14, 2010

Unconditional Love…
This week, as a part of a class I am taking, I was asked to write a paragraph or two on how I would respond to a hypothetical Catholic who is asking “Why do I have to go to Mass?” What would you say? How would you respond?

I pondered my answer for a while. I could respond that it is a mortal sin to not attend Mass; God will be disappointed; you can sacrifice an hour for God each Sunday; Jesus commanded it. These are all good, basic answers we usually give. I did think of one reason that isn’t mentioned too often – unconditional love. Mass is a time where we experience unconditional love in a variety of ways.

As I sat in Mass last week, I thought of love as I looked upon the stained glass depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. God so loved us he gave his only beloved Son to us. Jesus so loved us He was willing to die for us. I then started looking around at my fellow worshippers and I was thinking what a wonderful place we are in! We have all come together to love and worship our God and love one another. As I looked to my left and right I saw nothing but love. Each one of us here today belong to a group that was founded in love, unconditional love. Can you say that any other group you belong to is founded totally out of love?

In today’s Gospel we see a son who was lost for awhile and came back to his father who loves him unconditionally. In a few weeks, on Easter, we will have the chance to exhibit unconditional love for those who have not been to Mass in a while. Let us welcome back our prodigal sisters and brothers with unconditional love as our Father in heaven loves us, unconditionally.
God Bless, Holly Clark