Jubilee Mass: Fr. Bartholomew Murphy, SJ, Fr. Anthony Wach, SJ, Fr. Gerald Rebello, SJ, Fr. Bernard Mallia, SJ, (Golden Jubilee); Fr. Richard D’Souza, SJ, Fr. Valerian Shirima, SJ (Silver Jubilee).

Our earliest companions, even though they considered themselves weak and fragile and originating from many different places, found the will of God together amid great diversity of opinion…. Thus they began a narrative; they lit a fire, which was handed on in subsequent generations whenever people encountered the Society…. This collective history formed the basis of their unity; and at its heart was Jesus Christ. . . . Jesuits know who they are by looking at him (General Congregation 35, d. 2, no. 2).

Think about this: when was the last time you were asked to answer the question “Do you love me?” Perhaps for some of us, it was as recently as the last Valentine’s Day. No matter when we were confronted with the question, we probably did not have to answer it three times in one go. Peter’s frustration and distress are understandable. At the third time of asking, out of frustration, he blurts out: “Of course you know everything; you know it; you know that I love you!” Do you love me?

This is not a lesson about love; we are familiar with what St. Ignatius tells us about love in the final consideration of the Spiritual Exercises. But as I reflected on the Gospel in the context of what we celebrate today, several things came to mind concerning the meaning of Jesus’ question about love: Do you love me?

First, the answer is neither right nor wrong; it only needs to be true.

Second, it is not possible to utter the words “I love you” without looking at the beloved.

Third, saying it once is not enough.

Fourth, it does not last if is coerced.

Finally, to say “I love you” is to make ourselves vulnerable; it involves taking a risk. The French philosopher, Gabriel Marcel, reminds us that to say “I love you” is to say “For me, you will never die”.

Today we celebrate six of our companions who have uttered those words not three times but many times and in many places, whenever and wherever they have encountered the risen Lord. As Jesuits they have walked many paths, some right, some wrong. They have taken on many missions, some willingly, others less so. But the fact that many decades later they are still with us, walking the path of discipleship of Christ is a clear testimony to the truth of their profession of love for the Risen Christ. Bart, Tony, Gerry, Bernard, Richard, Valerian, you said “Yes, Lord, I love you.” And it was true!

They have looked at Jesus and recognized in him someone on whose love they can count, and who in response to their declaration of love said to them: “Follow me!” By so doing they stand in the long line of our Jesuit ancestors, from Ignatius of Loyola to Silas Kemboi, the youngest member of our province, who have continued to vow their love for Christ by the testimony of their lives, faith and works. Bart, Tony, Gerry, Bernard, Richard, Valerian, you looked Jesus in the eye and you said “Yes, Lord, I love you.” And it was true!

When 50 and 25 years ago they declared their love for Jesus; each one professed his love for Christ freely and joyfully. Yet none of them could have predicted the path that their love story would take. I have no personal stories to tell of any of our jubilarians, but if they could tell their stories, they would recount tales of happiness and sorrow, they would recall times of contentment and disillusionment; they would share experiences of bondless joy and intense suffering; they would regale us with stories of great achievement and humble success. All this because they have experienced those moments when as Jesus said their hands would be tied and they will be led to places where they would rather not have gone; because they have also experienced times when they felt the loving and consoling invitation of Jesus, “Follow me.” In the midst of these contradictions, they have persevered; they have stayed the course, and they have kept their gaze on the risen Christ. Bart, Tony, Gerry, Bernard, Richard, Valerian, you dared to say “Yes, Lord, I love you.” And it was true!

Bart, Tony, Gerry, Bernard, Richard, Valerian, we gather here today to celebrate you; we celebrate the genuineness of your profession of love; we rejoice in the tenacity of your love; we delight in the example of your steadfast love. The lizard who jumped from the tall coconut tree once said that he would congratulate himself even if no one else did. We know where you have come from; we know how high you have jumped, but once is not enough, because true love is not an achievement; it is a journey. A jubilee is only a milestone, the road that leads to God’s heart of abundant love is endless.

May you travel along this road and never stumble.

May you jump and never slump.

May the loving gaze of Jesus never cease to amaze you.

May you follow him knowing that he holds you in the hollow of his hands.

Bart, Tony, Gerry, Bernard, Richard, Valerian, today we celebrate you, we thank you, we rejoice with you . . . but, above all, we love you!

A. E. Orobator, SJ