Jesus was also thinking of all of us living in the midst of the complexities of daily life. Because he is Love incarnate, he will have thought to himself: I would like to be with human beings always, I would like to share every worry with them, I would like to counsel them, I would like to walk with them along their streets, enter their homes, revive their joy with my presence. For this reason he wanted to stay with us and make us feel his closeness, his strength, his love. Luke’s gospel tells us that having seen him ascend into heaven, the disciples ‘returned to Jerusalem with great joy’ (Lk 24:52). How could that be? They had already experienced the reality of his words. We too will be full of joy if we truly believe in Jesus’s promise: ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ These words, the last spoken by Jesus to his disciples, mark the end of his life on earth and, at the same time, the start of the life of the Church where Jesus is present in many ways: in the Eucharist, in his Word, in his ministers (bishops, priests), in the poor, in the little ones, in the marginalized… in all neighbours. Perhaps we could emphasize a specific presence of Jesus, the one that he himself, again in Matthew’s Gospel, pointed out to us: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them’ (Mt. 18:20). Through this presence he wants to be able to remain in every place. If we live what he commands, especially his new commandment, we can experience this presence of his also outside of church, in the midst of people, in the places they live, everywhere. What is asked of us is love that is mutual, that serves, that understands, that shares in the sufferings, anxieties and joys of our brothers and sisters – that love which covers over everything, forgives all things, typical of Christianity. Let’s live like this so that everyone may have the chance to meet Him already here on earth.

Chiara Lubich

(First published in May 2002)