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Our Gospel today is particularly appropriate for the celebration of Aelred of Rievaulx, writer of Spiritual Friendship. For Aelred, this passage was vital to understand what spiritual friendship truly was. We need the love of Christ Jesus as the source of our spiritual friendship with others. That love is what Jesus is sharing with the Disciples in this portion of His final discourse before His death and Resurrection.
From Jesus’ love flows the command to love one another. That was true for the Disciples, it was true for Aelred, and it is true for us now. For that love that helps us better love one another, we can truly say, “Thanks be to God!”