A Reflection for the 10th Friday in Ordinary Time
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us. (1 John 4:7-16)
Today is an important day, as America Media’s Outreach ministry marks the start of its annual Outreach Conference. Hundreds of LGBTQ people and their families, as well as those who love and minister to them in schools, parishes and organizations, from across the country (and a few from across the world, too!) will gather at Fordham University at Lincoln Center to build community, access resources, worship together and connect more deeply with the God who loves us all.
God’s love for each of us and its presence in the way we love each other is at the very core of the work of Father Jim Martin’s Outreach ministry, and it is a key theme of this weekend’s Outreach Conference.
I believe in Outreach’s work and goals, so it’s meaningful to me that today’s Scripture reading focuses on love and how it is among the truest manifestations of God’s presence. I think about the grace I feel when I am with my children, my husband (most of the time!), my nieces, my nephews, my sisters, my parents and my close friends. My heart feels full and I am enveloped in an abiding sense of goodness. These moments are when I feel God’s companionship most acutely and I remember how grateful I am for the loving relationships that affirm my faith.
God’s love for each of us and its presence in the way we love each other is at the very core of the work of Father Jim Martin’s Outreach ministry, and it is a key theme of this weekend’s Outreach Conference. Knowing and loving LGBTQ people myself, I am most grateful for that forum that will celebrate and honor the fact that God’s love is a sacred gift for us all to feel for ourselves and share with each other. Indeed, as John says so perfectly and without any qualifiers, “Love is of God.”
