Love one another

Fr. Joseph Dau Vu, SVD, was a Catholic chaplain of the Vietnamese “boat people” refugees in Morong, Bataan.

- FR. BEL SAN LUIS, SVD

He related to me how he together with 55 compatriots slipped out of communist Saigon on an old, decrepit motorized boat and sailed to freedom.

The “boat priest” reminisced with a tinge of sadness, “When fishermen from neighboring countries saw us, they attacked, robbed and exploited us. But when Filipino fishermen saw us, they gave food and welcomed us. Why are Filipinos different?” Fr. Dau Vu asked and answered: “It is because Filipinos are Christian.”

That Vienamese priest’s comment is very heartening, a tribute to Filipinos for their compassion and hospitality. Indeed, Christianity that's truly lived should make one more loving, more kind, more compassionate.

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To love as Christ loves is his explicit teaching in this Fifth Easter Sunday gospel. At the Last Supper, Jesus said. “I give you a new commandment: Love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples” (Jn 13,34).

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