When I was praying about what to write for Holy Thursday, it was clear our Lord wanted me to share St. Therese’s commentary on His new commandment given at the Last Supper: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
Excerpt
This excerpt is from Story of a Soul. St. Therese is meditating on the Last Supper: “Jesus made known to me His Will at the Last Supper, when He gave His Apostles His New Commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34). I set to work to discover how Jesus had loved them. I found that He had not loved them for their natural qualities, for they were ignorant and taken up with earthly things, yet he called them His friends (John 15:15) and His brothers (John 20:17) and wanted to have them with Him in His Father’s Kingdom; He was ready to die on the Cross to make this possible, saying: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). Meditating on these divine words, I saw only too well how very imperfect was my love for my Sisters; I did not really love them as Jesus loves them. I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue. I see above all that charity must not remain hidden in the bottom of our hearts, for “no man lighteth a candle and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel; but upon a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33). It seems to me that this candle is the symbol of charity; it must shine out not only to cheer those we love best, but ALL those who are of the household. Under the Old Law, when God told His people that they must love their neighbor as themselves, it was before He had come upon earth Himself; knowing how much man loved himself, it was the best He could ask. But when Jesus gives His Apostles a New Commandment (John 13:34), His own Commandment (John 15:12), He asks them to love one another, not only as they love themselves, but as He Himself loves them and will love them even unto the consummation of the world! Yet I know, my Jesus, that You never command the impossible; You know better than I do how frail and imperfect I am; You know perfectly well that I can never hope to love my Sisters as You love them, unless You Yourself love them in me. It is only because You are willing to do this that You have given us a New Commandment, and I love it because it is my assurance of Your desire to love in me all those whom You command me to love. I know that whenever I am charitable, it is Jesus alone who is acting through me and that the more closely I unite myself to Him, the more I will be able to love all my Sisters. Should the devil draw my attention to the faults of any one of them when I am seeking to increase this love in my heart, I call to mind at once her virtues and her good intentions. I tell myself that though I may have seen her fall once, there are probably a great many other occasions on which she has won victories which, in her humility, she has kept to herself. What may appear to me to be a fault may even be an act of virtue because of her intention, and as I have experienced this for myself, I have little difficulty in persuading myself that this is indeed the case.”
Let Us..
Let us all do what our Divine Savior commands us and love one another as He loves us! This is not easy, but trust what St. Therese says that He will love in us!
If you love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
