This week at Queen of All Saints and St. Mary Immaculate Conception, we are meeting in small groups to talk about the power of love.

When we are spreading the Gospel and talking to people about our faith, our witness of Christ’s love is so important. This is one of the reasons why our personal prayer life with Christ is so important!

For a minute, think about the way you talk about your best friend, or someone that you love very much. When you’re telling people about your best friend, you probably tell them about all the good times you’ve had together, how much that person has helped you in your life, and describe all of the wonderful things about that person. You’re probably really excited to talk about your best friend and how great they are!

Now think about the way in which you talk about Christ and about the faith. We should be as excited to talk about Christ as we are to talk about our best friend! When we talk about Christ and how much He loves us and how much we love Him, people can see it in our eyes, in our voice, and in the way that we live our lives. In order to talk about Christ to others, we should have a strong prayer life with Him. We need to go and encounter His love in order to share it with others. We should be so filled up with the love of Christ, that it overflows into our conversations with others. How do we encounter Christ’s love? By talking to Him! To get to know someone, you have to talk to them and spend time with them. Spending time in Eucharistic Adoration is how I encounter Christ’s love. Partaking in the sacraments is another important place to find His love and His mercy for us.

We are also called to witness Christ’s love through our actions and the actions of others. Here’s a few things you can try to show love to others, and to encounter Christ’s love through others:

1. Look for loving acts of service that take place in your family, your

neighborhood, at work, at school, or in your parish. Write them down in your

journal.

2. Find a new way to help your parish become more inclusive of people with

disabilities in the life and ministry of the community.

3. Get into the routine of checking on an elderly neighbor at least once a week.

4. Do some research on hunger in your community. Learn how your local food

pantries and soup kitchens supply food throughout the community. Ask

what you can do to help.

5. Show through an act of service the extent of your love for someone who may

not appreciate your kindness

6. Find out how you can become involved or supportive of your local prison

ministry or help the families of those who are imprisoned.

To close, try praying with this meditation written by St. Teresa of Calcutta. This meditation is all about how Christ desires to show us His love, and how He wants to have a relationship with us. https://avemariaradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Jesus-I-Thirst.pdf

 Have a blessed week!

-Tabitha

tabitha.jones@valpo.edu

Empathy, Individualization, Futuristic, Restorative, Belief