The eyes illuminated by the splendor of the Jerusalem of the sky that makes the Church a bride and Christ the bridegroom, can bear and cross the darkness that veils the soft light of the Upper Room when Judas lets himself be swallowed by the night. While the night of betrayal and passion stretches the shadows of him, the Lord Jesus continues to shed the light of tenderness and of his love for him: as I have loved you, so you too love one another. The commandment left by the Lord is what can really make all things new within us and around us. The outline of the pilgrimages and apostolic initiatives, described in the first reading, can be read as a reflection in the infinite – i n ever new forms – of the only salvation that comes from the resurrection. The path is still and always before us until the consummation of the wedding in the Jerusalem of heaven. A hallmark of love is the ability to respect and, in some respects, to love even the refusal of love! For this reason the Lord lets one of his apostles leave on the night of his choice and of his heart, without unnecessarily imposing on him the burden of an appeal to love which by now the life of Judas has completely closed… a closure that cannot be forced by love except in the form of absolute respect for non-love. As Raoul Follerau wrote and continued to say: «Charity is the order that reigns in the very life of God and becomes a reflection for us of his eternity» and adds «only in this way can we become truly human». Therefore, our humanity is like the ship evoked in the first reading: we can advance by defying the currents and waves or by acquiescing to the winds only to the extent that it unfolds its sail to the breath of the Spirit.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Community of the Koinonia de la Visitation

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey