Saturday, November 03, 2012

Take to Heart These Words



Take to Heart These Words

November 4, 2012
31st Sunday of Ordinary Time 2012 B
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!  Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.  Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."  Deuteronomy 6:4-6
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.  He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.  Hebrews 7:26-27
The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:31

Piety

The Lord loves us with an everlasting love.  He made us to love us.  Long before we ever were capable of doing a generous act, the Lord has held us in his heart with a love so personal he loves us for himself.  It is the richness of creation itself which expands the gift of our creation that gives us the beginning of an insight as to how much God loves us.  Before the galaxies were make and before we could even pick out a star that we could claim as the beginning of God ‘s love for us, he made us those eons ago that in the fullness of time  we could be the recipients of his ageless love.  What return should I make for God’s so great love for me?  How can I take up the choice of salvation to say thanks for all that he has done for me?

Study

We know that we can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.  We know that love cannot be deserved.  We study how to love the God that has first loved us.  We know that God suffers from ‘luvitis.’  God is love.  The only limit on God’s love in our lives is we.  We are called to love the Lord our God with all our mind heart and soul.  We study how to love him more.  When our hearts pain us because we feel we do not deserve God’s love, we hesitate to accept the so great love of God always there waiting for us to accept.  The only limit on God’s love in our lives is our willingness to accept it.  Our actions are how we make God’s love in our lives real for others to see.

Action

With millions of people without electricity, with millions of people isolated by the storm of the century, we are able to cut down on our use of things that there might be more for others.  How we limit our sufficiency by opening ourselves to the needs of those around is the love of God at work in us.  There is no limit necessary on our love when we realize no one has to deserve our love.  Just like God, we are free to love.  Christ makes up the difference for our insufficiency by giving his life for us and we can own his love by accepting it.  We too can go the extra mile without being asked.   In this time of great need we can reach beyond what we are asked to do.   The work of the Lord that is possible when we love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are invited to give without counting the cost, to labor without seeking for rest, to give our lives as best we can that our love make Christ’s gift of himself years  ago  continue in our offering up our lives for others.

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