Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - 16th week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12, 46-50 - If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, says the Lord; my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

Our relationships, usually, are governed by belonging: blood relationship, blood relations, relationship according to origin. It is in this same perspective that Jesus was warned of the coming of his mother and brothers. But for Jesus, the relationship is not reduced to the bond of blood: are his mother, his brothers and sisters, those who accomplish the will of the Father. In the prayer that He taught His disciples: "... Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", the same prayer that we also recite, He teaches us that all men, calling God: "Father", are brothers and sisters, sharing with Him the same life and the same inheritance. The relationship with God is not a cold and distant one, but a "Father and Son" relationship built on trust and sharing.

Jesus is then the Elder Brother with many younger brothers, including the sons of God on pilgrimage on earth, the sons of God redeeming themselves in purgatory and the sons of God already happy to contemplate Him in His glory. This was possible because Jesus accepted to give his life on the cross out of love and to save us. Therefore, we must make the effort to love all men as Jesus loved them, so that the great family of mankind may be effective.