In the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, we contemplate how the Trinity, moved with sympathy for their creation, decided to act: thus the Son of God came down on earth to be with creation as a creature himself. Love needs to manifest itself in action: otherwise “love” becomes meaningless.

In the first reading, St John teaches that it was God who first loved us and that we know Jesus loved us because he laid down his life for us. Anyone who has experienced Our Lord’s love cannot but share that love by reaching out to the most needy sections of the community. Jesus said that we could love to the extent of even laying down our life for others

In the Synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus proclaimed his mission in the words of Isaiah: to preach the good news to the poor, to set captives free, to release the oppressed. We who are called to imitate Christ need to imbibe his values and live as he lived. In a world where material wealth is abundant but concentrated in the hands of a few, the just distribution of wealth is something we must ensure as, with Jesus, we reach out to the under-privileged and the oppressed.