Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
You Are My Friends
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Fraternal love among Christians, but also love of all people for one another, without boundaries or reservations, is inseparable from friendship with God. Both loves are in fact one. For Christians, human relations have a religious content and express a religious relation. For sure, we can and must love God in himself. But we experience God when our love, like his, is liberal and without calculation, oriented towards people in their otherness. Such a love converts us, that is, turns us to God and to others, overcomes selfishness, forgives and shares. It recognises sensitivities and respects others’ backgrounds; see today’s first reading, in which Jews and Christians recognise one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is Christian love in action.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, love is your name
and you have revealed all its depth
when you sent your only Son into the world
and let him be the sacrifice that took our sins away.
Through Jesus, who calls us his friends,
make our love as strong as life and death;
let it always have the last word in us
and be given for free, like yours.
May we always remain in your love
and love one another as Jesus has loved us,
He who is our Lord, forever and ever.
First Reading
Then the apostles and elders, along with the entire Church, decided to select representatives from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. These were Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both prominent leaders among the brothers.
They brought with them the following letter:
“Greetings from the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the believers of non-Jewish descent in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
We have heard that some individuals from among us have worried you with their discussions and disturbed your peace of mind. They were not appointed by us.
But now, it seems right to us, in an assembly, to choose representatives and to send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are sending you, then, Judas and Silas, who will personally convey these instructions to you.
We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided not to impose any burdens on you except what is essential:
You are to abstain from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from prohibited marriages. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
After saying goodbye, the messengers went to Antioch, where they gathered the community and handed them the letter.
When they read the message, everyone was excited about the encouragement it provided.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you!
There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends;
and you are my friends if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants anymore, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father.
You did not choose me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will remain. And everything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
This I command you: love one another.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That the Church may be deeply aware, that what matters to God is not our language or culture or face, but that his friends are those who learn to love, we pray:
– That we may know that we, God’s servants, are more than servants, for we belong to his household and are his friends, we pray:
– That we may know that we could not choose and love God, but that he has chosen and loved us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God, loving Father,
your love appeared with a human face
in your Son, Jesus Christ.
He showed all the depth of your love and his
by laying down his life for us, his friends.
As he gives himself to us as the bread of life,
may he be our food
on the road of life and of love,
not only when it is easy to love
but also when it is hard to be faithful
and when love demands self-forgetting sacrifice.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our loving God,
in this Eucharistic celebration
you have given us new proof of your love
by giving us your Son and his Spirit.
Jesus has strengthened our love.
Accept our thanks
and bring out the best in us,
that we may bear rich fruit
of faithful, reliable love.
Let your Holy Spirit unite us
to build community with one another
and to live in your love and joy,
now and for ever.
Blessing
Just imagine! Today, Jesus has called us his friends and asked us to remain in his love. Let us do all we can to put this into practice, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTION:
John 15:12-17
Be a loser for love
Jesus calls us to love one another “as he has loved us.” How did Jesus love his disciples? It is set in the context of the Last Supper. Jesus brings them together for the meal. Sharing a meal is a sign of love, friendship and family. In the past, our elders insisted that families gather around the table and eat together. In today’s world, one of the reasons for the rising numbers of broken families and lack of love in the families is – that the members rarely share the table; people are too concerned about their jobs, social life and studies … we have time for everything except for the family meal and family prayer.
Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples, his new-found family. And there, he would first wash his family’s feet and tell them to love. Regardless of how badly the other person wronged you, our call - our vocation is to wash our brothers’ or sisters’ feet - to be a loser, for love’s sake. That’s why Jesus stoops before Judas Iscariot, who would betray him, to wash his feet.
The story does not end there: He tells them to feed on his body and blood – his life. “I am donating my life to strengthen and nurture yours.” This is exactly what happens in a family united by this sacrificial love, where the wife and the husband surrender their lives, freedom, personal likes and choices to each other because they are in love. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for each other and their children.
This is the desire of the Lord that we love one another. This new commandment calls on us to accept others as they are and not as they should be or as I would like them to be. So easily said, but had we Catholics given serious thought about this, there would not have been disputes and divisions in our families and communities.
Just imagine! Today, Jesus called us his friends and asked us to remain in his love. Let us do all we can to put this into practice. Can I kneel before my husband, wife, elderly parents, or anyone else to wash their feet, as a sign of Jesus’ love for them?
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23 May 2025
John 15: 12-17
Called to Friendship with Jesus
Today, Jesus speaks to the Apostles — and to us: “I do not call you servants any longer, but friends” (Jn 15:15).
Throughout the Bible, many great figures — Moses, David, Elijah, Mary — were called "servants" of God, entrusted with sacred missions. However, when it comes to the New Testament, Jesus reveals something even greater: For him, the disciples are no more “servants”; He desires friendship with us, a bond characterised by affection, trust, and a shared existence.
Friendship is a deep human experience. We see children, share their toys with those whom they consider as friends; as teenagers, we share our secrets; as adults, we share our struggles and joys. True friendship is born not out of calculation, but out of recognition — seeing something of ourselves in another. It endures beyond mistakes, offering forgiveness instead of abandonment. “A friend loves at all times,” Proverbs 17:17 reminds us.
Jesus is this Friend — the One who knows our weaknesses and still entrusts us with His heart. He shares with us everything He has received from the Father. He calls us dear, beloved, beyond our merits, inviting us to abide in His love without fear.
Today, let us ask ourselves: What face does Jesus have for me? A distant stranger, or a true friend? Do I welcome His love, and do I reflect His friendship to others — especially to those in need of forgiveness and mercy?
The heart of Christian life is not mere duty, but a joyful friendship with the living Lord. It is a relationship that transforms us and sends us out to build bonds of love wherever we go.
May Mary, the faithful friend of God, help us grow each day in friendship with her Son, and spread His love to the world.
Jesus calls you His friend — remain in His love, and share it freely