Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings for Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
First Published: Thursday, June 08, 2006
Great Commandment
Reflection:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these
The greatest commandment, the heart of all the actions that make us visible as Christians are contained in this short statement by Jesus. It is our great strength and our great weakness. It is strength because, in doing Gods will, and it is Him alone we serve, we gain the great reward promised by Jesus, eternal life.
The greatest commandment is perceived by the secular world as our great weakness because of what it demands of us with relation to those who hate us. We are to love them, we are to turn the other cheek, give more than we are asked. In the eyes of the world, that is a silly thing for us to do.
It is said that for the last ten years of his life, St. John, the Apostle preached every day to his community. Each day he would come down and simply say Love one another. It is also said that one day one of his followers asked him why he never said anything else. After all he had been with Jesus for almost the entire time he was in active ministry. We are told that John answered saying that Love one another. was the most important thing Jesus had said to them and it could not be repeated enough.
It is such a simple concept but so hard to live by. It requires us to submit to the will of God on a daily basis. The only way that the greatest commandment can be easily followed is by a hermit monk who spends all day each day praising God and asking for mercy on the whole world.
Perhaps that is the reason the Divine Mercy Chaplet has become so popular in the past three years. It is one manifestation of the greatest commandment. Today lets give it a try. For just today see if we can follow that commandment without fail for the whole day. Pax
Readings for Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
First Published: Thursday, June 08, 2006
Great Commandment
Reflection:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these
The greatest commandment, the heart of all the actions that make us visible as Christians are contained in this short statement by Jesus. It is our great strength and our great weakness. It is strength because, in doing Gods will, and it is Him alone we serve, we gain the great reward promised by Jesus, eternal life.
The greatest commandment is perceived by the secular world as our great weakness because of what it demands of us with relation to those who hate us. We are to love them, we are to turn the other cheek, give more than we are asked. In the eyes of the world, that is a silly thing for us to do.
It is said that for the last ten years of his life, St. John, the Apostle preached every day to his community. Each day he would come down and simply say Love one another. It is also said that one day one of his followers asked him why he never said anything else. After all he had been with Jesus for almost the entire time he was in active ministry. We are told that John answered saying that Love one another. was the most important thing Jesus had said to them and it could not be repeated enough.
It is such a simple concept but so hard to live by. It requires us to submit to the will of God on a daily basis. The only way that the greatest commandment can be easily followed is by a hermit monk who spends all day each day praising God and asking for mercy on the whole world.
Perhaps that is the reason the Divine Mercy Chaplet has become so popular in the past three years. It is one manifestation of the greatest commandment. Today lets give it a try. For just today see if we can follow that commandment without fail for the whole day. Pax
posted by Deacon Jim | 1:23 AM
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