FULLTANK MONDAY: Love Does Not Love From a Distance

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Real love does not run away when suffering begins. No, real love stays.

[00:00:08]Let [music] me tell you a story of a young seminarian.

[00:00:12]Every day this [music] guy prayed that God would send him out to a mission.

[00:00:19]One day God answered his prayer in a very unexpected [music] way.

[00:00:23]His own brother was sent to a mission in Hawaii.

[00:00:29]And all the preparations were already made, [music] but at the last minute his brother got sick. So this young man asked, "Can I take [music] his place?"

[00:00:40]And the organizers agreed.

[00:00:43]And he found himself on his [music] way to Hawaii.

[00:00:47]Two days later he was ordained a priest.

[00:00:51]One day he found [music] himself in an island called Molokai whose residents [music] were sick with leprosy.

[00:01:01]And these lepers [music] had been abandoned for years, treated as outcasts. Hundreds were suffering [music] from disfigurement and poverty.

[00:01:13]Many were losing their face, [music] their eyes, their ears, their hands, their feet.

[00:01:18]Even if he knew that this was a death sentence, >> [music] >> this young priest volunteered to serve in the island of Molokai.

[00:01:29]He served and lived with these lepers.

[00:01:33]He taught them how to farm, raise animals, play music, and sing. [music] And then it happened. After 16 years of living with them, the priest was soaking his feet [music] in hot water when he realized he could not feel the heat. And he knew he now had leprosy. [music] He wrote his bishop, a "I am calm and resigned and very happy in the midst of [music] my people. I daily repeat from my heart, 'Thy will be done.'"

[00:02:09]This priest [music] died among the lepers, the people he loved. His name, Saint [music] Damien of Molokai. He was God's face >> [music] >> to his leper family.

[00:02:23]Friend, I believe there are many lepers around [music] you, emotional lepers, spiritual lepers, people wounded by rejection and shame and [music] failure and addiction and loneliness, depression or sin.

[00:02:39]They're desperate for love. Some don't even love themselves anymore.

[00:02:44]>> [music] >> You don't have to go far. They are around you, friends, office mates, relatives, neighbors. God is asking you, "Be my face."

[00:02:55]And take a cue [music] from Saint Damien.

[00:02:58]To be God's face, you need to go face to face. You cannot love from afar. You need to [music] go deep into those relationships. In today's gospel, while Jesus was dying on the cross, [music] Mary stayed, John stayed, the women [music] stayed. They could not remove the nails.

[00:03:21]They could not stop the soldiers. They could not end [music] the pain, but they stayed.

[00:03:30]My friend, sometimes love cannot fix, but love can stay. [music] And that is your mission today.

[00:03:39]Stay with someone who is hurting.

[00:03:41]Listen, >> [music] >> visit, text, pray, show up, be present.

[00:03:49]Here's a question I want to ask [music] you, and you can write the answer in the comments.

[00:03:54]Who is the leper God is asking [music] you to love face-to-face today?

[00:04:00]And my friend, if these messages bless you, I invite you to support [music] our mission. Be part of this work of love, sharing God's word through social media, sending [music] out missionaries, bringing young people closer to God, helping the poorest [music] of the poor.

[00:04:15]It's very easy to be a supporter. If you're watching this through Facebook, click the button subscribe. It will lead you to a page where [music] you can contribute a small amount every month if you want to.

[00:04:28]In YouTube, click the button join.

[00:04:31]In a podcast, click the button buy me a coffee.

[00:04:34]>> [music] >> Your support helps us keep sharing God's love every >> [music] >> single day. Come, let us pray.

[00:04:42]In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord, make me >> [music] >> your face to the people that need it today.

[00:04:54]Someone [music] that feels forgotten.

[00:04:56]Someone that is hurting.

[00:04:58]Help me to [music] be that channel of love.

[00:05:01]I'm praying right now in Jesus' name.

[00:05:05]Amen [music] and amen.

[00:05:07]To become my supporter, if you're watching [music] this through Facebook, click the button subscribe. In YouTube, click the button join. In a podcast, click the button [music] buy me a coffee. Maraming salamat. This is Bo Sanchez here in full tank. God bless you. I will see you tomorrow.