My eldest daughter’s Catholic preschool teacher once sent home a note, explaining that, “God made me. I am special,” was what they were learning that week. I smiled as I read that. But then the thought occurred to me: How many adults need to learn this same lesson? How many people fail to realize that they are special in God’s eyes? How many just don’t know- really- that God loves them?
It’s been said that the poorest people in the world are those that are unloved, because they’re robbed of their human dignity. If that’s the case, then the world is a very poor place.
Today’s gospel, however, reminds us God loves us more than we could ever imagine. We’re told he loves us so much that he wants us to live with him forever, and that his own Son died to make this possible. It’s as if God is saying to us: “I love you so much that I can’t think of spending eternity without you.”
Are we grateful for this love? In prayer I try to be grateful to God for many things: blessings received, prayers answered, and so forth. Maybe you’re the same way. But how often do we simply say, “Thank you God, for loving me.” Probably not often enough. Today, let’s make it a point to rejoice in the wonderful truth that God is love, and that God really, really, loves us.
Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/050411.shtml
Photo credit: kyz via Creative Commons