Love of God and Love of Neighbor

The scripture readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032919.cfm
In today's gospel for mass we  hear the all too familiar passage where Jesus is asked about what the greatest commandment is. He responds "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) That's easy enough, right? Well, guess what? That's not enough!

Jesus goes on to say "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31). That's where things get tough!!

It's easy to love God. It's easy to go to church on Sundays and feel good that we're doing what we think God is asking us to do in our worship of Him. But, as Jesus points out, we need to take our love of God to those in our lives. This isn't always easy in our human relationships. There are people in our lives that are not very likable, let alone lovable. But we are called to love them as we love God.

There are those in our families we may not want to have anything to do with. Or there are those on our job that we may feel are jerks! Or there are those in public office that we may LOVE TO HATE!! Guess what? God is asking us to LOVE them as we love Him. He's not asking us to like them. He's asking us to love them. And while we're at it, we should pray for those that we may not want to love, let alone to like. If we pray for all the people in our lives, those we find easy to love, and those we find it hard to love, this world would be on the path of becoming a better place.

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return

 

Our 40-day journey of fasting and penance during Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on March 6^th. The churches will be filled with people looking to have ashes placed on their foreheads. The priest or deacon will say, as he administers the Ashes, one of two phrases: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” or “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

These two phrases are inviting all of us to turn to God and develop a closer relationship with Him. We are reminded that we are nothing without the presence of God in our lives. “We are dust and to dust we shall return.” The other phrase, “Repent and believe in the Gospel” helps us realize that we are all sinful people in need of repentance. We need to develop that relationship with God that will help us become better people in our relationship with one another and with God.

There are a few ways that we can develop that closer relationship with God during Lent. First is by the regular reading of scripture. I would like to suggest that you take time every day to read the scripture readings assigned to Daily Mass. You can find these assigned readings in magazines such as the Magnificat, The Word Among Us, or Living Faith. These magazines will tell you what the scripture readings are for each day of the week. Take time each day to sit with one of these magazines, and a Bible (I would recommend the New American Bible). Find a convenient time during the day to sit prayerfully with the scripture readings that are assigned. Take time to see if the Lord is attempting to speak to you through the scripture readings.

Another way is to go to Mass during the week (in addition to Sunday mass). Usually weekday masses are very simple and prayerful and is a good way to be with the Lord in addition to Sunday. Plus, you have the benefit of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist in addition to just Sunday.

Finally, sometime during Lent make time to go to confession. The regular use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially during Lent, helps us to focus on where we should be in our relationship with the Lord.

Repent and believe in the Gospel.