Last week, this was sung at the funeral of a patriarch of one our beloved families. We celebrated his life that, by every measure, was a life well lived. The words of this song seemed to speak of the way Tom had lived life. His heart was one with his country, his church and his family. He had served them all with a singular devotion. As I sang (quietly to myself because no one wants to hear me sing), I pondered the beautiful phrase, “one love released.” Tom, in how he had lived life released his love and God’s love. And as I reminded the family at the rehearsal, love never dies.

It is an interesting phrase, “one love released,” and it seems to resonate with the message of the Eucharistic revival we are in the midst of in our Church. For Holy Communion calls us into one faith and one spirit, that Jesus longed for us to be united in. And peace is the fruit of that united community of faith.

What does “one love released” mean? I think it reflects that Jesus released his life for our salvation. And now we are called to release our faith to others. Every celebration of the Eucharist urges us to respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him and be, as Al McCauley says, “a walking, talking tabernacle for others” and release the love that Christ has given us, to others.

Diane Nienas, in her book, I see Jesus, wrote, “If we look at love as a necessity, it can only lead us in the direction of God for he is love and if we need love, we need God. God is already in you. He has taken up residency within you and all you must do is accept him.”

I believe great meaning will be found when we give the gift to others of sharing our faith. Nothing compares to the purpose in life we will know from living, as our friend Tom did, with one love released.