“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends (...). I no longer call you servants (...); instead, I have called you friends,” the Lord tells us in the Gospel of the Mass.
Jesus is our Friend. In Him, the Apostles found their greatest friendship. He was someone who loved them, with whom they could share their sorrows and joys, and whom they could ask anything with complete confidence. They knew well what He meant to express when He told them: love one another... as I have loved you. When Lazarus' sisters sought His presence, they found no better title than that of friendship: the one you love is ill, they sent word to Him. It was the strongest argument they had at hand.
Jesus sought and fostered friendship with all those He encountered along the roads of Palestine. He always made use of dialogue to reach the depths of souls and fill them with love. In addition to His infinite love for all humanity, He showed His friendship toward specific individuals: the Apostles, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Lazarus and his family... Even to Judas, He did not deny the honorable title of "friend" at the very moment Judas was handing Him over to His enemies. He deeply valued the friendship of His friends; He would ask Peter after the denials: Do you love me?, Are you my friend?, Can I trust you? And then He entrusted His Church to him: Feed my lambs... feed my sheep.
"Christ, the risen Christ, is the companion, the Friend. A companion who allows Himself to be seen only in shadows, but whose reality fills our entire life, and who makes us long for His definitive company."
He, who has shared our life, also wants to share our burdens: I will give you rest, He says to us all. He is the same one who ardently desires for us to share His glory for all eternity.
Jesus Christ is the Friend who never betrays; when we go to see Him, to speak to Him, He is always available, waiting for us with the same warm welcome, even if there has been forgetfulness or coldness on our part. He always helps, always encourages, and consoles on every occasion.
Friendship with the Lord—which is born and grows in prayer and the worthy reception of the sacraments—allows us to better understand the meaning of human friendship, which Holy Scripture describes as a treasure: A faithful friend, says Ecclesiastes, is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. Nothing is as precious as a faithful friend; no sum can balance his worth. The Apostles learned the true meaning of friendship from Christ. The Acts of the Apostles show us how Saint Paul had many friends whom he loved dearly; he missed them when they were absent and was filled with joy when he received news of them. Christian antiquity has left us testimonies of great friendships among the first brothers in the faith.
HCD