Fifth Week of Easter : Monday, 29th April 2024

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We shall come to him and make Our home with him.”

These words show that to love Jesus is to be obedient to His Word. What is this Word? It is every word and deed of the Lord in the Gospels.“Keeping the Word”, does not mean blind, literal understanding of it. It is important that our understanding of the Word of God is within the teachings (or “Magisterium) of the Church. Otherwise, everyone will have a distorted interpretation of the Word and claim that to be the absolute truth.

Also, one must always keep in mind that when reading the Gospel in one’s own vernacular, some things may be lost in translation. English readers of the Gospels for example must realise that the “Good News” were translated from Latin, which was translated from the original New Testament Greek. Thus, guidance is necessary when seeking to deepen one’s knowledge and understanding of the Word.

Finally, keeping the Word of Jesus means praying over what one reads and allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire one’s understanding before one acts on the Word. When done in sincere faith, hope and love, the Word of God becomes alive and active in the believer, animating him/her to become an instrument of God’s peace.

Lord God, may our hearts and minds be a home to Your living Word, Christ Jesus.