October 25
The Greatest Commandment
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Today’s Gospel:
Matthew 22:34-40
(The Greatest
Commandment)
“But
when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came
together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" And he said to
him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And
a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the law and the prophets."
Reflection:
Which is the greatest commandment? Why did they ask this? Because love
needs to be brought into the light, and when they tried to trap Jesus with that
very question, He didn’t hand him a long list of rules. He gave him two
commands: love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as you love
yourself. Everything else comes from these. One day each of us will stand
before God, not before a court with someone to defend us, and He will look at
how fully we loved Him and how well we loved the people He placed in our path
that we were meant to help and love. That isn’t meant to frighten you, it’s
meant to wake you up, because love was the whole intention from the start.
So where do we find the strength to love like that? It’s not something within
ourselves. We ask Jesus to open the gates of our hearts and flood them with His
love, so that we can love Him tremendously and love others more completely. Always
remember our love must be real and sincere, because God can’t be fooled. He
knows who we are and He knows who we’re meant to be, and if we pray for His
will and trust His timing, it really does come together. God loved you first,
long before you were born and long before you could say a word back to Him, and
He has never held anything back. We can love Him the same way.
The biggest thing standing in the way is selfishness and pride, two poisons
that have wrecked families, ministries, friendships, and even faith itself. Ultimately, prayer is the cure, because a person who prays grows humble, and a humble
person grows generous, and a generous person begins to look a lot like Jesus.
People notice that. Your love may be the only Gospel your neighbor ever hears,
so don’t keep it to yourself. Tell them about the One who loved you first, pray
every chance you get, and know that Jesus loves you always. It is Beneath the
Standard of Mary that, as we go with Mary, we understand the depths of her love for
Jesus, as she leads our hearts to her Son.
Who in your life needs to feel God’s love through you today, and what
will you do to show it? What selfishness or pride is quietly crowding out your
love for God, and are you willing to hand it over to Him in prayer? And who
will you invite into this love this week, whether with a kind word, a prayer,
or a simple act of kindness?
Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely
shared.
