Pastor's Column

           In today's first reading, Moses gives the people of God (and to us as well) what the Jews call shema:

 

This one saying, along with the requirement to love our neighbor as ourselves is at the very heart and soul of the gospel.  In today's gospel, Jesus adds to this:  He asks us to love the Lord our God with all our mind as well!  This was so important that observant Jews wore the shema in a small box on their forehead (tied around the head with string): in a small box on their wrists; over the entrance of the door; and on the gate outside.  Orthodox Jews continue this practice even today.

 

Jesus lets us know that love will be the basis of our final evaluation in life.  Already we can see this is true, for who better expressed the gospel ideal than Mother Theresa of Calcutta or Saint Theresa of Lisieux (the "St. Theresa" in Mother Theresa of Calcutta's name).  Mother Theresa simply served the abandoned and unwanted, the sick and the dying in Calcutta, for she saw in each needy person the very face of Christ.  St. Theresa of Lisieux (now a Doctor of the Church) realized that even our smallest actions have meaning to God when they are offered in love to Him.

 

St. John tells us simply that God is Love (1 Jn 4:15).  This is the very best word that describes our Father.  So of course, like any good parent, God wants us to grow up to be like Him.  Each evening we should take a moment to ask ourselves "How have I loved?" or "How have I been loved today?"  When we practice loving actions in our daily lives, we are already beginning to live in heaven where everyone and everything -is Love.

 

                                                                       Father Gary