Friendship is a sacred vocation that leads to salvation
The post quotes St. John Chrysostom on love between friends. He teaches that one who loves should be ready to give even his soul if asked, and should rather run to offer the gift than wait to be asked. Nothing, he says, is sweeter than such love, and nothing grievous comes from it.
He cites Scripture twice: a faithful friend is the medicine of life (Sirach 6:16) and a faithful friend is a strong defense (Sirach 6:14). Chrysostom asks what a genuine friend will not do, what pleasure, benefit and security he gives, and says that infinite treasures cannot compare with a genuine friend. He then describes the delight of friendship itself: a friend rejoices at seeing his friend and expands with joy, is knit to him with a union of soul that affords unspeakable pleasure, and is roused in mind and transported by the mere remembrance of him.
The author connects this to Christ's command in John's Gospel, where He told the disciples not only to love one another but commanded them to lay down their lives for their friends. From this the author concludes that friendship is not something external but a sacred vocation that leads to salvation.
Key moments
- The hymn asks the Lord Jesus to grant the departed rest.
- It repeats the plea that they are like the flowers of the field and have fallen, O Lord.
- The departed left all their possessions, their families and their friends, and went to the Lord the Most High, to the angels and to their relatives.