In the 1960s Tommy Smothers complained to his brother Dick that their mom always liked Dickie best. The comedy continues:
Tommy: You had a dog.
Dickie: You had your pet chicken鈥�
Tommy: They don鈥檛 bark good.
Dickie: You had a wagon.
Tommy: One wheel鈥�
Tommy: We played together鈥nce every three or four months鈥�
Dick: You should have kept that chicken away from my dog.
Tommy: My chicken killed his dog.
In a homily 鈥淯nequal Parts鈥� Father Brendan McGuire reflects on his mother鈥檚 funeral and the love his parents had for their 12 children. He describes the wonderful funeral procession leaving the church:
鈥淚 was the fi rst one, the youngest鈥y brother, the eldest, and my two sisters would be at the back of the casket; then my eight other brothers four on either side would carry Mom on their shoulders and that is how we left the church. It was a very powerful moment as we walked her out of the church bound together in love.
鈥淭hat night, we celebrated and it was a great day. In contrast to that, the next day, the will was read.鈥� Does God have favourites?
Their mom had divided the estate into unequal parts. The unity quickly disappeared as the siblings tried to puzzle it out. The question came up: 鈥淲ho did she love the most?鈥�
鈥淲ell-I鈥檓 the youngest - and I鈥檓 a priest! C鈥檓on! Isn鈥檛 it obvious?鈥�
鈥淚n the end, the conversation came to a grinding halt when one of my elder brothers remembered what our parents鈥� responded鈥hen they were asked, 鈥榃hich of your children do you love the most?鈥� And he recalled, and I remember it myself as well; they said, 鈥榃hichever one needs it.鈥欌��
Brendan recalls that his mom didn鈥檛 love anyone less; she loved everyone equally, but she loved those who needed it a little more.
God loves us all equally, but God has more love for those who need it; those who are hurting; those who have pain and have struggled; those who have suffered loss of a loved one.
He gives us the love we need at those painful moments.
Sister Pat McCormack, in a retreat said, 鈥淭here is nothing I can do that can make God love me anymore than He already does and there is nothing I can do to make God love me any less than He already does.
鈥淕od loves us all because He created us. Without condition,He loves us completely. If there is going to be a little extra dose of love, God gives it to those who are on the periphery, as our Pope Francis says. Those ones who are hurting; those who are disenfranchised; the poor; the homeless; the weak; the broken; the sick. Yes these God loves just a little bit more because they need it. So we are called to mirror that in our own lives.鈥�
McGuire tells us we are called 鈥渢o love everyone but to love those who need it the most a little bit more.鈥� He continues, 鈥渙ften times those people in our lives who are hurting push us away and they do not allow us to love them.鈥�
But 鈥渨e have to continue to love them even at a distance. And communicate as best we can that we continue to love them and nothing has changed.鈥� And McGuire challenges us: 鈥淲ho today in our lives needs love the most? And can we love them as Jesus commanded?鈥�
What makes love possible is that God loved us even before we loved Him (1 John 4:10).
