A fifty year-old Greek was dying in a New York hospice.
He had a good life, so he said.
He would have it all over again.
He would gladly forgo money and health
and making it in America,
if only he could have the same wife,
the same family, the same love again.
Love - that was what was important in life.
It was love which kept things together and made sense.

The day before he died
he sent for the members of his family, who were, he said,
quarrelsome and at odds with one another.
He told them solemnly
that they must learn to love one another,
they must try harder.
It was everything, everything.
They must believe this,
for it was the word of a dying man.

Christ spoke similar words to his friends
the night before he died.
He gave them a simple clear message
“Love one another, as I have loved you.”
His words were meant for us too.


Flor McCarthy SDB.