The First Letter of John is addressed to the Christians of a community in Asia Minor, to encourage them to reestablish communion among themselves, as they are divided by various doctrines. The author exhorts them to keep in mind what has been proclaimed "from the beginning" of Christian preaching and repeats what the first disciples saw, heard, and experienced in their fellowship with the Lord, so that this community too may be in communion with them and, therefore, with Jesus and the Father (cf. 1 Jn 1, 1-3).

"Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love".

To recall the essence of the revelation received, the author emphasizes that, in Jesus, God loved us by taking the initiative, embracing human existence to the fullest extent, with all its limitations and weaknesses.

On the cross, Jesus shared and experienced in his flesh our separation from the Father. Giving himself completely, he restored it with a love without limits or conditions. He showed us the love he had taught us with his words and his life.

Through Jesus' example, we understand that true love requires courage, effort, and the risk of adversity and suffering. But those who love in this way participate in the life of God and experience his freedom and the joy of surrender.

By loving as Jesus has loved us, we free ourselves from the selfishness that closes the doors to communion with our brothers and sisters and with God, and we can experience it.

"Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love".

Knowing God, the One who created us, who knows us and the deepest truth of all things, has always been a longing, sometimes unconscious, of the human heart.

If He is love, by loving like Him we can glimpse something of this truth. We can grow in the knowledge of God because we essentially live his life and walk in his light. And this is fully realized when love is reciprocal, since, if we love one another, "God remains in us" (cf. 1 Jn 4, 12). It happens more or less like when two electrical poles touch and the light turns on and illuminates everything around.

"Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love".

To bear witness that God is love – affirms Chiara Lubich – is the “great revolution that we have been called to offer today to the modern world, in extreme tension […], just as the first Christians showed it to the pagan world of that time.”^[1].

How to do it? How to live this love that comes from God? By learning from his Son to put it into practice, particularly in "[…] service to our brothers and sisters, especially those close to us, beginning with the little things, the most humble services. In imitation of Jesus, we will strive to be the first to love them, detaching ourselves from ourselves and embracing all the crosses, small or great, that all this may entail. In this way, we too will soon reach that experience of God, that communion with Him, that fullness of light, peace, and inner joy to which Jesus wants to lead us."^[2].

"Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love".

Santa often visits a nursing home, a Catholic setting. “One day, she and Roberta meet Aldo, a tall, very cultured, wealthy man. Aldo looks at the two young women with a somber look: ‘Why have you come here? What do you want from us? Let us die in peace!’ Santa is not discouraged and tells him: ‘We are here for you, to spend some time together, to get to know each other, to become friends.’ […] They return several times. Roberta says: ‘That man was particularly withdrawn, very depressed. He didn’t believe in God. Santa was the only one who managed to enter his heart, very gently, listening to him for hours.’” She prayed for him, and once gave him a rosary, which he accepted. “Later, Santa learned that Aldo had died naming her. The pain of his death is lessened knowing that he died peacefully, holding in his hands the rosary she had once given him.”^[3].

Silvano Malini and the Word of Life team

[1] Cf. C. Lubich, Spiritual Thought "Here I am, before any brother", 19-1-1984: Life, a journey, Madrid 1994, pp. 147-148.
[2] C. Lubich, Word of Life, May 1991: Ciudad Nueva n. 266 (5/1991), p. 28.
[3] P. Lubrano, A flight always più alto. The life of Santa Scorsese, Città Nuova, Rome 2003, pp. 83-84, 107.