Love of God and Love of neighbor

Dear Parish Family,

Today we are reminded of the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn. 13:35) This defines out Catholic Christian Identity, seems easy, right?

For some of us loving God is easy; however, loving our neighbors may come with conditions. I will love my neighbor as long as they do not cut me off on the freeway. I will love my neighbor as long as they do not get on my nerves. I will love my neighbor as long as they are loving in return. We are called to love them even when they are unkind to us, when it takes our all. 

Our Love of God finds its fulfillment in our love of our neighbor. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt. 25:40) Only then, are we being true to the commandment of loving God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind.

In the last several months, as we all have experienced the pain of our brothers and sisters that have been affected by the hurricanes, earthquake and fires, we have been witnesses to the action of Loving our Neighbors. We have seen real love, sacrificing love, in big and small ways. Let us not wait for extraordinary events to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters. Sometimes a warm smile or holding the door open for someone can be life changing. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta would say “do small things with great love.” 

Siempre Adelante,
Tere Delgado
Faith Formation Minister
October 29

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