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The inner word

26 Oct 2008 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Today’s message on the greatest commandment raises a question: Let’s assume for the moment that as a pastoral minister your “love of God” is well grounded. That being the case, which of the remaining is the more difficult for you: love of neighbor or love of self? If love of neighbor is the more challenging, why so? Do you find you are impatient with others’ shortcomings and limitations? Are there practices that will help you cultivate greater patience and compassion? If love of self is the challenge, can you uncover some of the causes for this? Are there painful issues from your childhood or family relationships that have yet to be resolved? Can you take a step today that will help you begin to feel better about yourself?

love of neighbor love of self

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The inner word

29 Oct 2017 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Today’s message on the greatest commandment raises a question: Let’s assume for the moment that as a pastoral minister your “love of God” is well grounded. That being the case, which of the remaining is the more difficult for you: love of neighbor or love of self? If love of neighbor is the more challenging, why so? Do you find you are impatient with others’ shortcomings and limitations? Are there practices that will help you cultivate greater patience and compassion? If love of self is the challenge, can you uncover some of the causes for this? Are there painful issues from your childhood or family relationships that have yet to be resolved? Can you take a step today that will help you begin to feel better about yourself?

love of neighbor love of self

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Homily stories

29 Oct 2017 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

I saw him from a block away, only to ignore him later. “Some change, please?” is all I heard. I was walking with a bag full of bread, and I just walked on by. He was just a boy, sitting in the cold, hungry. But with my bag full of bread, I didn’t even look at him. I just walked on by. A block later, I wanted to go back, to have another chance. I wanted to offer him a piece of bread. “Here, have two, have the whole bag . . .” But I stood there, frozen. All I heard was Jesus telling me to do to love my neighbor as myself. But, coming home from Mass, with my bag full of bread, I just walked on by. I felt guilty. I told myself I was wrong and foolish. This bag of bread was given to me so it wouldn’t go to waste. I don’t need more food. I have a home. I have people who love me and clothes to wear. But, after today I still have a lot to learn, because he was hungry and I had a bag full of bread. And after so much praise and so much trust; after so much praying, I couldn’t even look at him because I was scared of what others would think. When you were hungry, Lord, I gave you to eat, but when I met this abandoned soul, as I was coming home from Mass, with my bag full of bread, I just walked on by. I guess we all have a bit of Saint-Peter-denying-Jesus in us. Thank God we are not judged by our weakest moments, but by our willingness to admit our shortcomings and strive to more faithfully live the two greatest commandments going forward.

Authors Deacon Pedro Guevara-Mann

love of neighbor

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The inner word

29 Oct 2023 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Today’s message on the greatest commandment raises a question: Let’s assume for the moment that as a pastoral minister your “love of God” is well grounded. That being the case, which of the remaining is the more difficult for you: love of neighbor or love of self? If love of neighbor is the more challenging, why so? Do you find you are impatient with others’ shortcomings and limitations? Are there practices that will help you cultivate greater patience and compassion? If love of self is the challenge, can you uncover some of the causes for this? Are there painful issues from your childhood or family relationships that have yet to be resolved? Can you take a step today that will help you begin to feel better about yourself?

love of neighbor love of self

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Homily stories

03 Nov 2024 - Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

When Jesus is quizzed about the single most important Commandment, he responds with two—love of God AND love of neighbor. Today, we refer to this two-in-one directive as the Great Commandment. On the one hand, the Great Commandment is biblical shorthand for the Ten Commandments: of those ten decrees, the first few reference love of God, while all the rest pertain to love of neighbor. But the Great Commandment also shines a bright light on Judaism’s central teaching, called the Shema. The first part of the Great Commandment is a direct recitation of the Shema prayer (from the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Numbers): “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.” Why would Jesus tack “love of neighbor” onto the end of the Shema? Is it because the Shema’s exalted focus on God necessarily excludes us, as mere mortals? Not really. For an undeniable moral mindset flows implicitly from the Shema: Our “right relationship” with each other is spelled out in the very act of centering our lives wholeheartedly on God. Consider: We don’t exalt and worship God for God’s sake—God’s greatness doesn’t depend on us. We exalt and worship God to be reminded, repeatedly, that God is God and we are not. Jesus reminds us that we are not the center of the universe—and that love of neighbor springs largely from that realization.

Authors Mary Lynn Hendrickson

great commandment shema love of neighbor

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