This morning, I rose early with the most vivid image in my mind. I had been dreaming. I do not normally recall nor spend much time thinking about my night time dreams! This dream was different. Given my new year’s resolution to draw nearer to Jesus, I will share this story.

I woke up with an image of Michelangelo’s Pietà on my mind – a marble sculpture of the Blessed Mother Mary holding the dead body of her Son, Jesus, after He was taken down from the Cross. In my dream, Michelangelo’s sculpture was painted with vibrant colors. I could see myself kneeling there, before the Pietà. The Blessed Mother was peering down at me intently, as if she were trying to say something.

As I sipped my morning coffee, the image remained on my mind, and slowly I felt a sense of peace settle on my heart. I thought more about the amazing Peace and Love that ultimately triumphed over that terrible event on Golgotha.

I began to think about the brokenness that exists in each one of us – a brokenness that causes indescribable pain at times. We tend to see this brokenness most clearly within our own families. We know each other so well.

We know that God gives us very specific people to love in the world. Jesus describes this in the Gospel of John, in a prayer to the Father:

“I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of this world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your Word.” John 17: 6

Jesus asks that we follow His example of loving others, as God loves us:

“’As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My Love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His Love. I have told you this so that My Joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.’” John 15: 9-11

Loving others – and in particular, our families – fulfills us. It completes us in ways we cannot imagine.

And yet loving others well requires sacrifice and effort. Love demands that we be willing to put the needs of others above our own. It commands a willingness to listen to and engage with one another – and a willingness to forgive. Love is not always easy. Loving family members, in particular, can be tough. Again, we know each other well.

Love is a choice we make. Before Jesus dies on the Cross, He asks His beloved disciple, John, to watch over His Mother:

“When Jesus saw His Mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His Mother, ‘Dear Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your Mother.’ From that time on, this disciple [John] took her into his home.” John 19: 26-27

Through this gesture, Jesus confirms that God gives us our families to love – and that we must choose how deeply we love them.

Through my dream, I feel the Blessed Mother was reminding me to love deeply those family members who have been given to me in this world.

Dearest Jesus, help us not to lose hope when we see brokenness in this world. Especially within our families, help us to love deeply, to seek to understand and to forgive, and to turn to You first, when we are angry and hurt. Help us to cherish the families You have given us, and to search for and find the goodness in one another.

These words from St. John of the Cross are compelling:

“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”

We are in this world to love.

Our desire and commitment to love ultimately defines our happiness on earth, and eternally with the Father. Someday, God will ask each one of us how much we loved others. He will ask us to recall those times when we gave of ourselves beyond what we thought was possible. He will ask about the times we chose to forgive – and not to forgive. God will ask about the times when we chose pride over loving each other.

What will I say to Him?