Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark Jesus tell a man the entire Gospel message boils down to two requests…..…..Jesus replied, "The first is this: 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”…….So simple - Right? - So what is the problem?…….When we read these two commandments from Jesus, at first glance we say to ourself - How easy - But then “life” presents itself….What makes these two easy commandments so hard?…..Well, let’s start with the first - Love God above all things - We can “say” we do this but the devil is not only real but very “slick” in how he fools us into thinking we are “ticking this box” when in fact we are not….”Idols” that take the place of God can be things that on the surface many appear good…But just when we are not paying attention…..These harmless activities or mindsets become something they were not intended to be - And in turn can become “bigger” and more important then God…Our need for control - Our desire to succeed - To name two such idols….When we “get lost” in these pursuits, we can stop hearing the voice of God…..Now for the second commandment that Jesus presents to us today in the Gospel - Loving your neighbor as yourself…Why can’t we do this?…The answer comes down to we do not “see” God in our neighbor….If we do not “see” God in our neighbor - Because let’s be honest - Our neighbor can be very unlikable at times - We surely will not “Love our neighbor as our self…However, if through grace we can “see” God in our neighbor, we surely will make great strides in loving our neighbor as God intended us too….So how do we make that happen?….This begins and ends with the Sacraments….When we “clear away our sins” through making a good confession, we then can receive the Eucharist worthily, which in turn will “open our eyes”….Here is also something very important to keep in mind - When we have been given “eyes to see” through God’s grace…We will see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament…When we can see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, a simple piece of bread transformed by the hands of a priest, we then will be able to see God in our neighbor - And in turn, we will fulfill the commandment - To love our neighbor as ourself. - Simple Right?!?
"If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them."
The greatest witness I have ever been given of the first two and most important commandments was given to me Mother Teresa’s sisters…For seven years before I was married I was their driver in New York City on Saturdays…The Missionaries of Charity love the most unloveable among us….How do they do it….In two words - They pray!….To see God in our neighbor requires grace - And God avails us to this needed grace through the Sacraments and also through prayer…Mother Teresa’s sisters sit before the Blessed Sacrament everyday for one hour…In doing this, God speaks to their heart - And God also transform their vision in the process….This is the only reason why the Missionaries of Charity can do what they can do…Because their hearts have been transformed, their vision is transformed as well …….”I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh”….This “new heart”, which is required for us to “see” properly can not be self manufactured…It also cannot be acquired from reading a book…To acquire this “new heart” we must again, clear away our sins Sacramentally, receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace and make time to pray, especially before the Blessed Sacrament…And when we make these practices apart of our everyday life….Our vision not only changes but so does our priorities…And before we know it…We love God above all things and we love our neighbor as our self - Bingo!……That is how the Missionaries of Charity do it - And that is how we must do it as well
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions”
Today Jesus in the Gospel from Mass tells a man the foundational belief and practices of Catholic faith - In two short sentences!…Its very easy to read something and think we can accomplish it all by ourself - Even when we as Catholics have the best of intentions, we all fall short of these two commandments….But just because we fall short does not mean we can not get better!…..Like with all things in life, we must put in effort and time to improve…The same goes for becoming a better Catholic!….In this reflection, I gave the example on Mother Teresa’s sisters….They live the first two commandments better then anyone I have ever seen…But that does not happen “magically”…..The Missionaries of Charity “make room” for God to enter into their life….They pray, they live sacrificially, and they live Sacramentally…And they do this day after day - “Rain or Shine” - This is exactly what each of us must do…To love God above all things and to love your neighbor as yourself will not happen “magically”…For this to happen - We need grace and that grace is made available to us all - If only we “make room” for it in our life……..John the Baptist put it best….”I must decrease and he must increase”…..This is how we love God above all things and love our neighbor as ourself…..”Make room” and open the doors wide for Christ…..JMJ
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