Today, we contemplate Jesus giving the apostles his last “instructions” before “his departure”. The teaching and indications are clear: we must love one another just as He himself loved us. To what extent? To the point of death, giving everything up for our brethren: This is what charitable love is.

Charity can be looked upon as “divine ethics”, it’s the divine style of love. To us it’s a "novelty". Several ethical systems certainly existed before Christ (Aristotelian ethics …) as did legal systems (Roman law…). But God goes beyond that: he destines us to love as Divine People—Father, Son and Holy Spirit— love each other and us. It is a love that —without disqualifying it— aims far beyond that which is useful and pleasing: it’s the quest for the good and the perfection of the other.

—Jesus, you are God and have become man "for me". Teach me to love to the point that I "exist for the others", to the point that I can say to my brother: I am happy because I make you happy.