One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Fr. Bernie Wilkins used to say in his homilies that the best homily given is one that is lived – when a person or persons live their lives in such a manner that the people around them see the Gospel proclaimed through their good works.  Today, in our Gospel, Jesus tells us about the greatest commandment of all…

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

For those who would like to see this Gospel alive and in action today, I offer you this short video clip…

Do something great for our Lord today – The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  I take great pride in sharing this with you, the family showing love to their grandmother just happen to be my cousins who are showing their love to my beautiful Aunt Jackie.  God Bless them.  God Bless You.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.

But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.  Compete well for the faith.

Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion – inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us so that in difficult moments we may not despair or become despondent but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will which is Love and Mercy itself.  Amen.