Love One Another

Written by Aaron Skiba on Wednesday of Holy Week

So here we are; we have arrived at the pinnacle of Lent: Holy Week.  Tomorrow is Holy Thursday in which we celebrate the last supper and Jesus’ act of washing the disciples’ feet.  I find this act astonishing; the Messiah, the King of the Universe stoops down and washes His friends’ dirty feet.  When have you seen or heard of such a humble act being performed by a famous or powerful individual?  I imagine you can think of very few instances, since honestly I can’t think of any.  Taking this a step further, could you see yourself conducting such an act?  To be honest I can’t envision myself doing this, especially right before a celebratory meal.  However, such humble and loving acts are precisely what Jesus calls us to do.  Specifically, right after washing the disciples’ feet Jesus gives us the commandment to: “love one another.  As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” (John 13:34-35).

This notion of loving one another has been a paramount theme throughout my Lenten journey.  For in all honesty, at times I can be a rather self-centered and impatient person. Thus my goal this Lent was to give more time to those in need and to be more patient with others.  Though I still struggle to be patient and I often find myself focusing on my personal priorities rather than others’ (particularly those in need), just giving a small portion of time and simply being conscious of the fact that I’m called to sincerely love everyone has brought peace to my life.

To increase my awareness of this call to love, I have spent time contemplating what it’d be like to love every person I encountered on a daily basis. By love, I mean sincere love like the love a mother has for her son or a husband his wife or a father his daughter.  Think about it, what would this be like and how would you treat the individuals who crossed your path each day?  Genuinely loving everyone in this way is precisely Jesus’ commandment; and sadly it’s taken me this long to realize and appreciate it.  And I know it will take the rest of my life to learn to love in this way and even then I won’t be perfect at it because love is difficult.  Love takes time and effort and it challenges us to be selfless, which directly contradicts the ideas society imposes upon us.

However, we must not forget the key fact that Jesus loves us and even though we will never perfectly reciprocate this love to others our efforts to do so are very pleasing to Him.  Furthermore, through these efforts, though they are very difficult at times, we will be filled with the peace and joy God longs for us to experience.

Therefore, as we enter into the Triduum, I humbly invite you to reflect upon the love you have experienced and provided throughout this Lenten season.  In light of your reflection I hope and pray that you may fully appreciate the love Jesus showed us through his Passion and death so that you might be motivated to love everyone you encounter throughout the Easter season.

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Aaron Skiba
Aaron is a PhD student at the University of Michigan studying Aerospace Engineering.  He has been a part of the St. Mary’s community since he started his undergraduate degree in 2007 and is currently part of both the Graduate/Young Professionals and SCC lead teams.  
Email: skiba@umich.edu