LOVE GOD AND NEIGHBOR

This has been a challenging year.  What we used to take for granted we suddenly can not assume anymore.   Hugging and shaking hands have been replaced with a simple nod of the head from a safe distance.    It has been a time of social distancing from friends but drawing closer to the people with whom we are sheltering in place.  Slowly but surely we are beginning to expand our involvement in activities where we can safely feel comfortable.

This may be a time of fear and suffering for those sickened by the virus, a time of mourning when loved ones have died, but we must also have gratitude for those who have remained healthy.  As Christians we know that Jesus is with us in this Pandemic, just as He has been with us in all the trials of our life.  Because He is with us, He continues to pour out His blessings, even amid the challenges.  He gives us the grace to deal with the obstacles we face.  He invites us to unite our sufferings to His on the cross.  He continues to hold out to us the promise of new life, now and always.

Today, acknowledge what you have been through these past few months – moments of  joy and sorrow.  Bring the Lord into these ups and downs of your life.  He  understands the discomfort and distress of having your life disrupted in so many ways. He desires to heal us and unite Himself to us.  We can always rest in His embrace.

This Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that we are to love God above all because He is God.  It is He who can heal us, strengthen us and bring us peace.  We are also called to love our neighbor because as God’s sons and daughters, we are all of equal value.  Loving God and neighbor is the clearest summary of what God expects of us.  The center of what God calls us to in this life is to love.  To the extent that we grasp that, we will see how to carry out our  responsibilities and do what is right.  To the extent that we fail to grasp that, our attempts to do what is right will end up in pride and hypocrisy, which Jesus denounces in the next chapter of the Gospel.

Jesus calls us to live continuously out of love of God and love of neighbor.  He calls us to be perfect.  For most of us love seems to be a light that flickers on and off rather than one that shines continuously in our lives.  To follow Jesus is to walk with Him.  He can guide  us as we set out on the road toward that perfect love, however long that road may be.

God Bless ~ Msgr. Powell