If you take away nothing else from this pontificate, or this encyclical, know this: Jesus has loved, is loving, and will always love you. “Even now, the Lord says to us, ‘I have called you friends’ (Jn 15:15),” Pope Francis writes. “His open heart has gone before us and waits for us, unconditionally, asking only to offer us his love and friendship. For ‘he loved us first’ (see 1 Jn 4:10). Because of Jesus, ‘we have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us’ (1 Jn 4:16).” By Chris Sparks “He loved us.” Jesus loved us enough to lay down His life for us, St. Paul points out (see Rom 8:37). Pope Francis makes that the opening of his newest (and fourth) encyclical, Dilexit Nos, and so the title of it as well. ‘He loved us’ 26 Marian Helper • Spring 2025 • Marian.org
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