Friends of the Bridegroom: Unity Under Mary’s Mantle

Acts 15:22-31, Psalm: 56, Jn 15:12-17

Memorial of Our Lady of Luján, Patroness of Argentina

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On this Memorial of Our Lady of Luján, the beloved patroness of Argentina, the Church invites us to gaze upon a Mother who gathers her children. Her humble image, forged in clay and found by a simple farmer, has drawn millions of pilgrims to her shrine. She is a sign of unity in a land of vast distances. Today, the Word of God speaks of another kind of gathering—the Church’s first council, where the apostles and elders, guided by the Holy Spirit, united the Gentile and Jewish worlds under the gentle yoke of Christ.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the Council of Jerusalem sends a letter to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. The message is clear: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities.” The apostles do not impose the full weight of the Mosaic law. They remove the heavy yoke that no one could bear. Instead, they ask only for a few practical measures to preserve unity and charity. The letter brings “great encouragement” to the brothers. The Church, born from the blood of martyrs and the fire of Pentecost, shows her face as a mother who does not crush her children, but lifts them up.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals the heart of this new law. “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Then He speaks the words that transform our relationship with God: “I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” We are no longer servants, bound by fear and obligation. We are friends, drawn by love and trust. And He has chosen us to go and bear fruit that will remain.

Our Lady of Luján is the perfect model of this friendship. She heard the Word of God and kept it. She laid down her life in service to the Father’s will. She stands at the foot of the Cross, sharing in the love that gives everything. And from that place, she intercedes for us, drawing us into the friendship of her Son.

Pope Francis, who as Archbishop of Buenos Aires often visited Luján, reminds us that “Mary is the Mother who never abandons her children.” Saint John Paul II, in his devotion to Our Lady of Luján, called her “the star of the new evangelization.”

For us today, the message is a call to unity and friendship. The Council of Jerusalem teaches us to bear one another’s burdens lightly, not to impose unnecessary weights. Jesus commands us to love as He loved—sacrificially, joyfully, without counting the cost. And Mary shows us how: by saying “yes” to God, by staying close to the Cross, by gathering all her children under her mantle.

This Easter season, let us receive the encouragement of the apostolic letter. Let us live as friends of Jesus, not as servants of fear. And let us turn to Our Lady of Luján, asking her to intercede for us, that we may love as Christ loves, and bear fruit that remains for eternal life. Amen.

May God bless you all!