Sunday, May 2, 2027 · Year B
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Remain in my love
Jesus tells His disciples, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” He calls them friends and commands them to love one another as He has loved them. At the house of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit falls on Gentiles, and Peter has them baptized.
Mass Readings
- First Reading Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
- Responsorial Psalm Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
- Second Reading 1 John 4:7-10
- Gospel John 15:9-17
Open the Mass Readings on USCCB.org →
First Reading Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Cornelius, a Roman centurion, falls at Peter’s feet, but Peter lifts him up: “I myself am also a human being.” Peter sees that God shows no partiality. While he is speaking, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentile listeners, and Peter orders them to be baptized.
Psalm Psalm 98
The Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.
Second Reading 1 John 4:7-10
Love is of God, and everyone who loves is begotten by God. God is love. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins.
Gospel John 15:9-17
Jesus tells His disciples to remain in His love by keeping His commandments, so that His joy may be in them. No one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. He calls them friends, not slaves, and chose them to bear fruit that will remain.
Step Into the Story
Peter had come up the coast from Joppa to Caesarea, Herod’s great harbor city and the seat of Roman government in Judea. There he walks into the house of Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, something no observant Jew was supposed to do. Cornelius falls at his feet; Peter hauls him up: “I myself am also a human being.” Then the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles while Peter is still talking. The First Letter of John says it in three words: “God is love.”
- 63 B.C.Pompey takes Jerusalem
- 14 A.D.Tiberius becomes emperor
- c. 18 A.D.Caiaphas becomes high priest
- 26 A.D.Pilate becomes prefect
- This week’s scene: c. 30 A.D.“Remain in My love”
Come back to the upper room in what was probably 30 A.D., late on the night before He dies. Judas has gone out into the dark. The lamps burn lower. The remaining Eleven lie close around the table, Peter, Andrew, James and John, Philip and the rest, tired, uneasy and very quiet.
Consider the world they know. A slave, under Roman law, is property and is told nothing. At Rome “friend of Caesar” is a coveted title for the emperor’s inner circle. Now listen to the voice of the man at the center of the table, low and steady, speaking of love and of laying down a life. Take your place among the Eleven, close enough to catch every word, and wait for what He calls them.
Encounter the Lord
Stay at the supper table a little longer. Jesus has just washed your feet. He looks at you and says, “I no longer call you slaves. I have called you friends.” A friend is someone you tell your heart to. That is what He has done.
Everything begins with His love. John insists: not that we loved God, but that He loved us first. Our love for others is not a project we generate on our own; it is His love flowing through us. And Peter learned at Cornelius’s house that this love has no borders. God shows no partiality. If the Holy Spirit can fall on a Roman soldier’s household, He can reach anyone you know.
Think of one person who is hard for you to love. This week, do one concrete act of kindness for that person, quietly, as Christ’s friend.
Know Your Faith
- 306·faith, hope and charity as virtues
- 122·why God wants there to be a Church
- 321·why a Christian cannot be a radical individualist
God Is Love
St. John affirms that “God is love”: God’s very being is love. God Himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in it (CCC 221). God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (CCC 733).
Love One Another
Jesus makes charity the new commandment: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love” (CCC 1823). Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves (CCC 1822). It is the greatest of the virtues (CCC 1826).
Friends of Christ
The New Law is a law of love; it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit and moves us from the status of servant to that of friend of Christ (CCC 1972). Charity brings the freedom of children, not the fear of slaves (CCC 1828).
A Church Open to All Nations
The Church gathers people of every nation. Christ died out of love for us while we were still enemies, and asks us to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away (CCC 1825). The Spirit’s coming upon the Gentiles shows that the Gospel is for all (CCC 1287).
Key Takeaways
- Scripture
- Doctrine
- Sacraments
- Christian Life
- Doctrine: God is love, and He loved us first.
- Christian Life: Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us.
- Doctrine: Jesus calls His disciples friends, not slaves.
- Doctrine: The Gospel and Baptism are offered to people of every nation.
Test Your Knowledge
True or false? Tap your answer.
Peter refused to let Cornelius worship him.
True.
Devout Jews of the time freely shared meals in Gentile homes.
False: they did not enter a Gentile’s house or share his table.
The Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius’s household before they were baptized.
True.
The First Letter of John says that our love for God came first.
False: not that we loved God, but that He loved us (1 John 4:10).
Jesus calls His disciples friends.
True.
Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues.
True.
Cornelius was a Roman centurion stationed at Caesarea.
True.
The New Law is a law of fear rather than of love.
False: it is a law of love that makes us friends of Christ, CCC 1972.
Jesus says there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
True.
The Catechism teaches that God’s very being is love.
True.
Answers: 1 T · 2 F (they did not enter a Gentile’s house or share his table) · 3 T · 4 F (not that we loved God, but that He loved us (1 John 4:10)) · 5 T · 6 T · 7 T · 8 F (it is a law of love that makes us friends of Christ, CCC 1972) · 9 T · 10 T
Journal Prompts
How does it change my prayer to know that Jesus calls me His friend?
Whom do I find hardest to love right now? What would loving them as Jesus does look like?
Do I believe that God loved me first, before I did anything?
Is there anyone I have quietly written off as beyond God’s reach?
Talk to God
Lord Jesus, You call me Your friend and laid down Your life for me. Let me remain in Your love. Teach me to love others as You have loved me, especially those I find hard to love. Amen.