St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church

Cardinal Basil Hume of London once told the following story about a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The line leading up to the gas chambers was long. The faces of the people waiting to enter reflected a welter of emotions. Some were in shock. Some were in denial about what was actually happening. Some were filled with anger; some with fear. And some were crying.

A little gypsy girl was standing in that line, holding a doll in her hand. She was crying. One of the guards saw her, and some forgotten corner of his heart came to life. But what could he do? He couldn’t save her since he was only one man against a thousand armed with machine guns. He did the only thing he could do. He joined her in the line, and, holding her hand, walked with her into the gas chamber to die together.

 

This is what Christ did for us on the Cross. He laid down His life for us. His death and resurrection destroyed the power of death. That’s the way Jesus loves us. And that’s the way we’re called to love each other. Love is a Christian’s name tag.

Love is our name tag as Christians. How does our love become practical? Our love becomes practical by doing the little things with extraordinary love. St Teresa of Avila said that the devil wants to get us to focus on the past and on the future, and forget about the present. But the present is the only time we can really love.

It’s vital to form the habit of asking the Holy Spirit to show us where he’s asking us to love right now. I’d like to propose one specific way that can help us to do one ordinary thing with extraordinary love. Prayer has a unique power. It may seem ordinary, but when we pray with love, its effectiveness is extraordinary.

So this week, set aside 15 minutes to pray for someone else. You could pray a rosary for that person. You could go to daily Mass and offer it for that person. You could make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for that person. But whatever it is, stick to it. Then let that person know you have been praying for him/her.

In the Eucharist we see how practical Christ’s love for us is. He laid down His life for us in an outpouring of love, and He gives us the strength to follow His example. “Love one another as I have loved you.” Let us beg Jesus, truly present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to set our hearts on fire with love, and to give us the strength to love others as He has loved us: to the end.