Friday, March 8. 2024

 Friday of the Third Week on Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

How do we love God with all our heart?  The heart is considered the source of desire.  We set our hearts on finding a good mate or having work that we enjoy and that provides a living.  We love God with all our heart when we seek Him above all else.  That is, we strive to develop a relationship with Him through prayer.

We love God with all our soul by always living in His light.  The soul is the principle of life.  It animates the body and carries on existence when we die until body and soul are reunited.  A soul that lives in God’s light always follows God’s will.  It will discern carefully what God wants and act resolutely to carry it out.

Loving God with our whole mind, we ponder what the Scriptures and the saints say about Him.  God is so great that no one’s mind can in any true sense know Him.  Yet we can come to an appreciation of His love and His will by study and reflection.

Often carrying out God’s will requires sacrifice.  Telling the truth when a small lie will save hundreds of dollars will make us feel and perhaps look foolish.  To do so may take all the strength, yet Jesus finds this necessary to fulfill the Law.

If we love God in these ways, we will be closer to Him than the scribe in today’s gospel.  Indeed, God will have already come to us.

Friday, March 29, 2019

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

The First Letter of John seems to hint that we can only love God by loving our neighbor.  Jesus, however, in today’s gospel does not compress love of God into love of neighbor.  Quite the contrary, he prescribes a robust regimen for loving God.  He says that we are to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.  How are we to accomplish all these practices?

In loving God with our whole heart we do not give attention to anything that will lead us away from Him.  We do not look at pornography or engage in gossip, for example. Loving God with our whole soul means to love Him fully emotionally.  We desire to be with Him and express our joy in His presence.  Practically it means to carry on continual conversation with God in prayer.  When we study Scripture and theology, we love God with all our mind.  Finally, in making significant sacrifices for God’s sake we love God with all our strength.  Perhaps in today’s contraceptive culture, the young couple who practices Natural Family Planning if they cannot afford to have more children well exemplifies a strong love for God.

Jesus tells the scribe who endorses his principal commandments that he is “not far from the Kingdom of God.”  He is not in the Kingdom yet because he has to act on what he acknowledges to be true.  Nevertheless, knowing what must be done is an important step to doing it.

Friday, March 9. 2018

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

Jesus’ “first commandment” in today’s gospel originates in the Book of Deuteronomy.  It is taken from a famous passage known by its first words, “Shema Yisrael” – “Hear, Israel”. The passage then dictates the commandment that Jesus cites and concludes by saying that the words should hang “as a pendant on your forehead.”  Probably the author never intended a literal pendant, only that Jews would fix the command firmly in their minds.  But, as in many things religious, some fanatics started to wear headbands with receptacles carrying the written words.  There is challenge enough with loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

To love God with all our heart means to love Him unreservedly.  We cannot love Him in this way if we are going to love at the same time contrary things.  We cannot love God and at the same time look at pornography.  The soul is the seat of supernatural life.  To love God with all our soul is to love Him so that we may have the fullness of supernatural life in heaven.  It is to love Him by carrying out His will that we forgive and assist others in need.

When we love God with all our mind, we take care to learn more about Him.  We read books and magazines that help us understand His ways.  And when we love God with all our strength we make sacrifices for Him.  Our added prayer and fasting during Lent are signs of a strong love for God.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Tobit, 6:10-11.7:1bcde.9-17.8:4-9a; Mark 12:28-34)

The gospels of yesterday and Tuesday told of Jesus’ rivals trying to discredit him.  First, the Pharisees and then the Sadducees ask Jesus questions whose answers should compromise his authority.  Jesus, however, smells foul play and deftly frustrates his opponents.  Today a scribe asks Jesus a question in an honest search for wisdom.  He is rewarded with the roadmap to eternal life.

When Jesus says that the first commandment is to love God with all one’s power, he means that we are to love him more than anyone or anything.  We are to desire His presence, to think about Him day and night, and to sacrifice ourselves for His benefit.  It is considerable quest in a world with many side attractions.  But it promises us the greatest prize there is – the Kingdom of God.

Jesus tells the scribe, “’You are not far from the kingdom.’”  He means that the scribe now knows the way to true happiness.  When he follows that way by loving God above all and his neighbor as well, he will have entered the Kingdom. 

Friday, March 24, 2017

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

People today often ask, “Who is the greatest?” or, “What is most important?” They believe that if they walk in the footsteps of the greatest person who ever lived or seek what is most important in life, they will not end up disillusioned.  The gospel shows that people of antiquity asked the same kind of questions.

The man asks Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  It is sometimes said that the first commandments for Jews is to “be fruitful and multiply.”  But Jesus does not concern himself with clever answers here.  He goes right to the heart of the matter.  The first commandment, he says in, “’You shall love the Lord your God.’” And the second greatest commandment is to “’love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

Many of us have difficulty loving God.  Some even say that to love our neighbor is to love God.  Although the two commandments may sound much alike, there is a critical difference.  God is the greatest good – the creator and sustainer of all things.  In faith we know that He exists as the One who loves us despite our many faults.  Because He tells us to love our neighbor, we make the effort to do so.  Even though our neighbors may hurt us, we love them by wanting what is best for them.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

                                                                                          

(II Timothy 2:8-15; Mark 12:28-34)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church judges agnosticism with benign toleration.  It admits that agnostics sometimes search sincerely for God although they may refrain from acknowledging God’s existence.  The scribe who approaches Jesus in today’s gospel in a way is similar to these agnostics.

Unlike others who have approached Jesus since he has entered Jerusalem, the scribe does not appear to have a hidden agenda.  He really wants to know what Jesus, the famous rabbi from Galilee, believes to be the greatest commandment.  Jesus not only tells him that to love God is most important but adds that to love one’s neighbor has almost equal urgency.  When the scribe accepts what Jesus offers, Jesus tells him that he is not far from God’s kingdom.  He is not there yet because being in the kingdom is a matter of living love not just talking about it.

We will find God when we search for Him in loving our neighbors.  Perhaps it is more accurate to say that God finds us as we deny ourselves for the sake of others.  He eases our consciences and gives rest to our hearts so that we feel His mercy.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Tobit, 6:10-11.7:1bcde.9-17.8:4-9a; Mark 12:28-34)

In a classic philosophical debate Plato holds that knowledge of the good results in a desire to do it.  Aristotle disagrees claiming that weakness of the will can short-circuit the desire.  Most people given the choice between, say, chocolate fudge and an apple for dessert would agree with Aristotle.  What would Jesus say?

In the gospel today Jesus makes a telling comment to the scribe who congratulates him on his choice of the greatest commandments.  He says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”  One may interpret this statement as meaning that the scribe is not in the Kingdom because he does not profess faith in Jesus.  But it is more likely that Jesus too recognizes the difference between knowing something as good and actually doing it.  The scribe is not yet in the Kingdom because he only acknowledges the need to love God and neighbor.  He still must humble himself to care for the other.

Knowledge gets us started on the “good life.”  It pinpoints what we should do, provides viable options, and assesses the risks of each alternative.  But actually doing what is right – true morality – also requires will-power – the virtues of temperance, fortitude, and prudence.  For example, young adults know the need for pre-marital abstinence from sexual intimacy to live chastely.  But sitting alone with their partners on Saturday night, they require the virtues of the will to overcome being swamped by lustful desire.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Tobit, 6:10-11.7:1bcde.9-17.8:4-9a; Mark 12:28-34)

In a classic philosophical debate Socrates holds that knowledge of what is right results in a desire to do it.  Aristotle disagrees claiming that weakness of the will can short-circuit the desire.  Most people given the choice between chocolate fudge and an apple for dessert would agree with Aristotle.  What would Jesus say?

In the gospel today Jesus makes a telling comment to the scribe who congratulates him on his choice of the greatest commandment.  He says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”  One may interpret this statement as meaning that the scribe is not in the Kingdom because he does not profess faith in Jesus.  Perhaps, but it is more likely that Jesus too recognizes the difference between knowing something as right and actually doing it.  The scribe is not yet in the Kingdom because he only acknowledges the need to love God and neighbor.  He still must humble himself to love.

Knowledge gets us started on the “good life.”  It pinpoints what we should do, provides viable options, and assesses the risks of each alternative.  But actually doing what is right – true morality – also requires will-power – the virtues of temperance, fortitude, and prudence.  For example, young adults know the need for pre-marital abstinence from sexual intercourse to live chastely.  But sitting alone with their partners on Saturday night, they require the virtues of the will to overcome being swamped by lustful desire.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(II Timothy 2:8-15; Mark 12:28-34)

There is a story about a holy man who was journeying through a forest. As he was preparing to spend the night, a robber approached and demanded that the holy man hand over his most valuable possession. The holy man without hesitation reached into his bag to pull out a diamond as large as a grapefruit. He gave it to the robber saying, "You must mean this." The robber took the diamond and happily went his way. Not long afterwards, however, he returned to the holy man. "Now," he said, "give me the treasure that made it so easy for you to hand over that diamond."

The greater treasure that makes a person capable of letting go of all material objects is God. He provides for peoples’ material needs and gives them hope for eternal happiness. Love for God has a diffusive quality which explains the apparent conflict in Jesus' dual commandment in today's gospel. People can love God with all their heart and still love their neighbor because love for God, the source and ground of all being, includes the responsibility to care about His creation.

It is not easy to love God. As human beings dependent upon material creation, we easily forget the spiritual creator. Still devoting our time and energy to prayer, we will fulfill Jesus' first commandment and if we do that, it is no great hurdle to love our neighbors.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

A number of years ago a Jesuit theologian wrote a disturbing article entitled, “The Eclipse of Love for God.” He said that what was one primary to our Christian faith -- our love for God -- is now often dismissed. Some, he said, replace the love for God with love for neighbor. Others, he continued, believe that the command to love God is only another way of stating the need to love oneself! Quite to the contrary the theologian advised that the commandment to love God still stands and can be fulfilled.

“How?” we might ask. Pope Benedict has suggested that we show our love for God by refraining from things that we enjoy. Foregoing desserts for God’s sake, for example, shows one’s love for Him. We also show our love for God by being faithful to prayer and worship. Many wonder how God permits catastrophes like the one that befell Japan one year ago. In these cases prayer indicates that we love God and recognize his sovereignty over creation even though we do not comprehend His ways.

Jesus’ response to the scribe’s insight in the gospel is instructive. He says that the scribe is “not far from the Kingdom of God” because he recognizes the necessity of loving God. Doing it – loving God above all things – will place him squarely in the heart of that Kingdom.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

Preachers have long noted that the first tablet of the Ten Commandments deals with love of God, Jesus’ first commandment, and the second with love of neighbor, Jesus’ second commandment. Some interpreters have tried to equate the two or even substitute one for the other. These efforts inevitably result in folly.

Attempting to love one’s neighbor without first loving God is like trying to balance a plate without a center on a stick. Humans disappoint one another causing one to compromise her commitments. The universal failure of Communism provides ample proof of this. Moved by the love of God, however, one can maintain her love for others despite indifference and even deception.

The First Letter of John bluntly proclaims the absurdity of trying to love God without loving one’s neighbor. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (I John 4:20). God, the Father of all, requires us to love His image in all His children.

The scribe in the gospel story wins Jesus’ approval because he correctly reinterprets the Ten Commandments. But Jesus makes a reservation. He says only that the scribe is “not far from the Kingdom of God.” In order to place himself squarely within that realm, the scribe must put his insight into practice.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Friday of the third Week in Lent

(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)

A number of years ago a Jesuit theologian wrote a disturbing article entitled, “The Eclipse of Love for God.” He said that what was one primary to our Christian faith -- our love for God -- is now often dismissed. Some, he said, replace the love for God with love for neighbor. Others, he continued, believe that the command to love God is only another way of stating the need to love oneself! Gratefully, the theologian advised that the commandment to love God still stands and can be fulfilled.

“How?” we might ask. Pope Benedict has suggested that we show our love for God by refraining from things that we enjoy. Foregoing desserts for God’s sake, for example, shows one’s love for Him. We also show our love for God by being faithful to prayer and worship. Many wonder how God permits catastrophes like the one that has befallen Haiti. Fervent prayer in these cases indicates that we love God and recognize his sovereignty over creation even though we do not and cannot comprehend His ways.

Jesus’ response to the scribe’s insight in the gospel is telling. He says that the scribe is “not far from the Kingdom of God” because he recognizes the necessity of loving God. Doing it – loving God above all things – will place him squarely in the heart of that Kingdom.

Homilette for Thursday, June 5, 2008

Memorial of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr

(Mark 12:28-34)

In a classic philosophical debate Socrates holds that knowledge of what is right results in a desire to do it. Aristotle disagrees claiming that weakness of the will can interfere with doing what one knows to be good. Anyone who has ever been given the choice between chocolate fudge and an apple for dessert should agree with Aristotle. What would Jesus say?

In the gospel today Jesus makes a telling comment to the scribe who congratulates him on his choice of the greatest commandment. He says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” One may interpret this statement as meaning that the scribe is not in the Kingdom because he does not profess faith in Jesus. Perhaps, but it is more likely that Jesus too recognizes the difference between knowing something as right and actually doing it. The scribe is not yet in the Kingdom because he only acknowledges the need to love God and neighbor. He still must humble himself to love.

Knowledge moves us along considerably on the road to the “good life.” It pinpoints what we should do, provides viable options, and assesses the risks of each alternative. But actually doing what is right – true morality – also requires will-power – the virtues of temperance, fortitude, and prudence. For example, young adults know they should practice abstinence from sexual intercourse to live rightly. But sitting with their partners on Saturday night, they need will-power to prevent being swamped by desire.