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.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

When we love God with all our hearts, understandings, and strengths and love our neighbors as Jesus loves them, we transform our lives into a living embodiment of God’s Love and glorify Him through our every action and sacrifice. Understanding and enacting God's teachings are central to our faith. It is in love that we find meaning in our lives and it is through love that we fulfill our calling as Christians. Love is our true and universal vocation, the one that leads us along the narrow path to heaven and eventually to life everlasting. Without love, we are nothing and to nothing we will return. But with love, we are united with God and our neighbors. We are made whole and shall never die.

Do we love God with all our hearts, understandings, and strengths? Do we love our neighbor as ourselves? How can we cultivate the sacrificial, but fulfilling, virtue of love in our lives?

O Lord, we love you and all your children.

Amen.