God has called us his friends; friends, at their best, lay down their lives for each other. They “will the same, and reject the same.” They are bound together not by accident, but by a choice to love. Friendship is a foretaste of heaven, where we are all called to go, because the God who reigns in heaven is a communion or friendship of Three Divine Persons. Finally, the concept of friendship is a mindful reference to our patron, St. John the Baptist, who referred to himself as “…the Bridegroom’s friend, who rejoices at his voice” (Jn 3:29).

The prepositional phrase “in our time” refers to the unique moment in which we find ourselves as the Church.

We are now much closer to the reality of the early Church, when the Apostles went out into the world that was hostile to the faith. We desire that every follower of Jesus in our parish and school have this basic assumption in mind—not as something to be gloomy about, but rather to be grateful for, because it gives everyone an adventure to share in together.

learn more