Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Melissa Gernon
Opening Prayer
Dear Lord, You have revealed that peacemakers are to be called your children. Help us work without ceasing to establish justice which ensures true and lasting peace. Through your, Son, Jesus Christ, who is our brother, our model, and our friend. Amen.
Reading
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 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.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared ask him any more questions.”
Reflection
These two commandments pose quite a challenge for me. Loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength is at the root of my relationship with God and I want it to be easy. However, it is far from easy, especially in times of struggle. I am tempted to not love God when I struggle but what I realize is that deep down, I am angry with myself because I don’t have a good, loving attitude when I struggle. I can be negative, angry, depressed, etc. None of those reactions say that I love God with all my being during the struggle. I tend to bargain and ask for the struggle to be taken away instead of focus on what the struggle can teach me and thanking God for the struggle.
Secondly, loving my neighbor is not easy either, especially when it is a neighbor who I don’t agree with or who behaves in ways that are offensive to me. My spiritual director once told me that when I don’t love my neighbor, it is really that I am not loving myself and that those aspects of the neighbor are what I loathe about myself. Furthermore, she explained that when I don’t love my neighbor or myself, I am not loving God.
In this month of celebrating the saints, I can look to them as witnesses and models of how to love neighbor and God. It is a lifelong journey. And a necessary one!
Closing Prayer
Lord, God, help me to love my neighbor so that I may demonstrate my love for You. Have mercy on me when I fall short of showing love to those who do not think and act like me. Give me courage to be the love that someone needs today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
