Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the one of last week. "Remain in me", He said. Today He continues saying: "Remain in my love". Then He explains to us how this love is to be, what fruit does it bear, and especially, how did He loved us!

How am I to know whether I love Jesus or not? It’s simple: If I obey His commandments! The first step in love is infact listening. When I love someone, I listen, memorize and commit myself to do what he tells me! Jesus Himself said: "The one who loves me obey my words"!

He offerred us an example, loving His Father in doing His will, obeying unto death. Giving His life for us, He gave us the greatest love, the one reserved for dear friends!

"You are my friends if you do what I command you". Do we know what Jesus commands?! The Gospels show us new ways of wisdom and courage, that brought together in one word, is love! Love is what makes God, the constant example given to us by Jesus.

Even st. John, in today’s Second Reading, underlines the same word to help us contemplate the mystery. The love of God is not hidden anymore. We don’t need to imagine it anymore with our fantasies, neither represent it with our reasoning, for God has already showed it and given it to us: it’s His only Son who came into the world! Through Him we received "Life". Now this Life permits us to love in return and witness that we are generated by God, that we too participate in His divinity. We participate from that divinity that is love and not divinity in the sense of dominion or suprempower.

Human beings are carried to think of God as a dominator because they themselves would want to command and rule. To come to know the true face of God, His true nature, His being love, it is necessary and external intervention; it is necessary an annunciation, a proclamation. Jesus, infact, sent His own into the world to proclaim His death and ressurection, and therefore, through these mysteries, make known God’s love!

Today’s First Reading presents us with the very first missionary meeting of Peter. He enters into a house of a pagan who desidered to know the true God. Peter proclaims to him Jesus and the mystery of His death and ressurection! The pagan Cornelius and the "many other persons gathered" in his house to listen with faith, received the Holy Spirit and, hence, baptism. Even though they would love God and pray to Him, they didn’t know Him until Peter proclaimed to them Jesus. They didn’t had the light of the Spirit, the necessary "Life" to come to know the fullness of joy!

The fullness of joy is infact the fruit of the knowledge of the love of Jesus! He Himself says it in today’s Gospel. He revealed Himself and told His own to love Him and to obey His Words, not for personal motives, but to find within themselves "His joy", "the fullness of joy".

Unfortunately not all Christians know this joy. Those who never decided for Jesus, those who accept to live more a natural faith, traditional, for convience, without deepening the meaning, cannot come to know the joy of Jesus! Instead, those who, even though risk to be the fun of the world or their friends, or risk economic loss and social consideration, have come closer to the person of Jesus and are committed to live His Word, these have come to know Life and perfect joy!