She looked over the table, rich with colorful flowers and plentiful foods, and declared: "Abondanza!"
In this way my grandmother often began our holiday meals. She meant abundant, plentiful, and this word aptly described what she saw and felt.
Jesus assures us that He came that we may have life and have it more "abondanza," i.e., abundantly. He didn't mean a life only filled with good health, riches or even good looks. For Jesus, life is in "abondanza" when we
recognize and follow the voice of God who loves us and calls us by name, and invites us to follow only Him.
As we move forward, we can use these times to practice De Sales' words:
"We must try to love all equally, since Our Lord does not say, "Love those who are most virtuous," but simply, "Love one another as I have loved you," without excluding anyone, however imperfect."
A Reading from Ephesians 2:22
By contrast the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. There is no law against such things.