8/25/2023 (Friday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 22:34-40

34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
35 and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

8/25/2023 (Friday) Today’s gospel reflection: Matthew 22:34-40

In the gospel reading above, Jesus is teaching what is really the most important thing in our life and that is love. As Saint Paul tells the people of Corinth, love is the greatest value (1 Cor. 13:13).

Because God is unseen, it is easier to say we love Him than actually doing it. In reality, we often ignore Him. We even prioritize our worldly affairs more than listening to Him and serving Him. Just take a look at our daily schedule. How many hours do we devote to God? So we ask ourselves again, “Do we really love God? How do we show it?

Then there’s love of neighbor. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus tells us that our neighbor is anyone who is in need. Yet we know that in reality, everyone is in need. We all have physical, financial, emotional as well as spiritual needs. How have we given out our time, talent, and treasure to help others? When was the last time you exerted your best effort to reach out to the person you don’t like?

Lastly, we cannot forget to love ourselves. The fact is we cannot love others without loving ourselves. How many us take care of our physical and emotional health? We hear many individuals who cannot accept themselves or their situation in life and so they end up in depression or suicide. We hear a lot of young and old people abusing themselves with dangerous substances and engaging in unhealthy relationships. Indeed, loving oneself is very important too.

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