31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
In today’s First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 2 to 6, Moses reminds the Israelites that “The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” Then in the Gospel Reading from holy Gospel according to Mark, chapter 12, verse 28b to 34, Jesus re-emphasizes the same message saying, “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.”
As Catholic Christians, it is clear and certain to us that Love is foundation and root of our faith. Love is the secret to attaining the kingdom of God and of a holy and wholesome life before God. Hence, the solid foundation of our Christian faith is love of God and love of neighbor, even the Ten Commandments are centered on love, as the first three commandments talk about the love of God; while the remaining seven commandments talk about the love of our neighbor. So how can one love God and his/her neighbor?
Loving a person entails knowing who they are and what they are all about. To know someone entails to encounter or meet the person, to talk to them, and to listen to them. So if we want to love God, we have to get to know Him. Getting to know God entails encountering Him in the Sacraments especially in the Holy Eucharist; talking to Him daily through prayer and listening to His Word proclaimed to us in the Holy Scriptures.
Loving our neighbor entails knowing who they are by meeting or encountering when we reach out to them; by communicating with them, by listening to them; and by understanding them.
Love of God entails Living for Him, being Obedient to Him, Valuing Him above all things; and Experiencing or Encountering Him everyday of our life. While Love of neighbor entails Letting go of our neighbor’s faults, Overlooking their weaknesses because they are frail, Valuing them because they are God’s children and Encouraging them to come closer to God. So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us love God more dearly and exemplify our love for Him in our love for our neighbor.
