St. Patrick
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and 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.”
Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
God’s Transformational Love
“And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’” Note, Jesus did not say, “Excellent, you got it all figured out, well done!” It is one thing to verbalize our understanding of God’s will, and still a whole other thing to truly live it out. Loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves is a very tall order. In fact, the only way to truly do this is to first love ourselves as God loves us. We must recognize that we are loved by God and allow that love to transform us. Once we love ourselves, we will truly be able to love others, without condition. We cannot limit God. Let God transform your heart so that his love and joy can shine through you to others.
Amen.
—Ed DeVenney is a campus minister at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland.
Prayer
Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
—Joseph Whelan, SJ, often attributed to Pedro Arrupe, SJ