Ninth Thursday of Ordinary Time

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

The scribe sums up Jesus’ teacher’s perfectly. He gets it! He knows what God wants and now he has only to put these words into action, just as we must put them into action in our own lives. We need to learn from Jesus how we can love God with all our heart, understanding, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what God wants from us, not just prayers and participation at Church, though these are good things to be doing. He wants us to live our faith, to bear His Love, Mercy, and Grace into the world through our thoughts, words, and works. If we do these things, we will soon discover that the Kingdom of God is not far from us because we make it present to others through our actions.

How do we ensure that God has the highest place in our lives? What do we do to love God with all our hearts, understanding, and strength? Do we love our neighbors as ourselves—or even better as God loves us?

O Lord, help us to love you and your children with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths,

Amen.