30th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
Today’s gospel reading is an invitation to love, as Jesus teaches us the power of love. The Pharisees tested Jesus by asking Him, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” This reminds us that the central message or core of Jesus’s teaching and the fundamental principle of discipleship is that we are to love God as well as love our neighbor.
As Christians, we are called to love God and let our love for Him flow into our love for others. So how can we love God and extend His love to our neighbors? We can love God by Knowing Him not just having the knowledge of who He is. We can love God by adoring, worshiping and praising Him. We can love God by making Him the center of our lives and by putting Him first over everything. We can love God by continually hungering for Him in our spiritual lives. We can love God by being obedient to His word, staying committed and dedicated to Him. We can love God by doing what pleases Him.
So how can we please God? We can please God by sincerely coming to Mass to worship Him, to adore Him, to praise Him, to thank Him for His blessings and to ask Him for our needs, and not just coming to Mass to fulfill our Sunday obligations, or to show off ourselves, our talents or gifts in our various ministries for people’s praise and applause! We can please God by actively, attentively and devoutly participating in the Holy Eucharist! We can please God by receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace and not because people are looking at us or observing us! We can please God by praying always and everyday! We can please God by respecting, accepting and abiding by His gospel and His teachings, as taught us in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and through the Magisterium of the Church. We can please God by respecting His holy and sacred name and His presence in the tabernacle in the Church! We can please God by honoring and respecting our fathers, mothers and our elders! We can please God by respecting and loving our neighbors! We can please God by serving Him and the Church in various ministries and capacities in our parish. We can please God by giving generously or being charitable when we can afford it! Doing these and more devout things pleases God and shows our love for Him.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us start working hard from today, to love God better by listening to His word, by truly accepting His word as taught us by the Church, and by putting His word into practice. By so doing, we will surely love our neighbors like ourselves.
