Dear St. Isidore Family,
This weekend we are blessed with both our patronal feast day as well as our children receiving their First Holy Communion.  It is always wonderful to see our young children being able to receive our Lord for the first time.  We pray that they, and we, will continue to grow in reverence for the Eucharist.
I wanted to share briefly about our Gospel today from John.  Christ gives us an important commandment: to love one another.  This is not meant to be a “sappy” love, or a love of affection.  We are reminded that love ultimately means to sacrifice for the other, and to wish the best for the other.  Love is all about relationship, and should never be about “me” first, but rather the other.
There are many ways we can show our love for each other.  We can do so by praying for each other.  When we know a brother or sister in Christ is going through a difficult time, we can say an extra prayer for them, that they will be comforted by God.  We can love each other by making sure that the other is cared for; spiritually, materially, financially, etc.  I have been impressed by our parish’s care for others with your donations during Advent and Lent.
We also remember that loving one another means willing the best for each other, and sometimes that means to correct each other.  We should always do so in a loving way.  We should always do so remembering that we can judge an action but never the person.  This is what is meant by Christ when he says, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.”
In the end, we are reminded that we need to build up a loving community in our world.  That love for neighbor seems to be missing in so many ways.  By loving one another, we can make more small changes that build up the Kingdom of God on earth.
God Bless, and please know you are in my prayers,
Fr. Michael