Faith: The Door to Love

05-18-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Last week, I was with tens of thousands of people at the Vatican Square to witness firsthand when the white smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel. I would have wanted to live stream this momentous event, but suddenly, all networks stopped working just before the white smoke came out. At first, I said, Oh man! Was I the only one who got disconnected? But it worked well for me, because now I can focus on the events on the balcony where the new pope would appear.

A cardinal came out and said: Habemus Papam, and they announced a name in Latin, which I did not hear clearly, until it dawned on me that our new pope is Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, an American, taking the name of Pope Leo XIV. We have a New Shepherd, Pope Leo XIV, who will lead us in faith and open a chapter in the Life of the Church.

The first Easter season of the Apostles and Paul is a picture of the Lord opening the door to the Jews, first, then to the Gentiles. The Apostles' experience of the empty tomb was not the end; the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus opened the doors to a new life for those who would accept the invitation to embrace the risen Lord. In the first appearance of Jesus to the Apostles, He passes through a locked door and imparts to them the greeting of peace, opening the doors of their heart to a resurrection faith.

As the disciples journey more deeply to their first Easter, more doors open at the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The upper room experience with the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit moved them to go out into the world to proclaim the Good News.

As Pope Leo XIV leads the Church, our journey and progress depend on how much we open our hearts to God: To FAITH, His Divine Mercy, and the power of the Holy Spirit. If we want a transformation, we should allow God to move our hearts by His transforming grace. Jesus gives us the key to the door of faith: This is how they will know that you are my disciples: your love for one another. Unlike the love we are used to, Jesus refers to a special kind of love that reflects His love for us. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another. - This is how all will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another. Our love for our neighbors reflects our love for our Lord.

Is it possible to love like God? From the natural perspective, no, but what is impossible for man is POSSIBLE for God, because nothing is impossible for Him. To love the other unconditionally is made possible by God by loving us first unreservedly and infusing His love into our hearts through the power of the Holy SPIRIT, as St. Paul says in Romans 5:5. So that His love allows us to make a gift of love to others. The examples of the thousands of martyrs who died for the love of God and others should convict us.

Let our love for one another start in our homes, communities, and relationships. Do you know how to keep this kind of love burning? The elements for love to grow are respect, trust, and gratitude. Jesus says in the Gospel: This is how they will know that you are my disciples. Love matters; without it, we are nothing because we cannot call ourselves His disciples. That is why love is the reason for our mission.

Somebody asked a well-known surgeon: Would you stop doing surgeries when your hands are shaky or when your eyes are failing? He replied by saying: Only when I no longer feel the pain and suffering of my patients and begin to see them as a statistic or one more case, then it is time for me to stop.

"Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out, even to the edge of doom." (William Shakespeare)