The Old Testament text quoted by our Lord in Mark’s gospel is called the Shema, the Hebrew imperative meaning “hear,” or “pay attention.”  This Shema constitutes the basic creed of Judaism.  It reads: “you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

By quoting the Shema,  Jesus declares that it is also the foundation of His own faith and devotion.   But then He adds to this quote from Deuteronomy a quote from Leviticus 19:18 —the verse about loving one’s neighbor as oneself.

Jesus incorporated these two commandments into His own life and taught His disciples to do the same.  For Jesus, there can be no true love of God unless it expresses itself in love of neighbor.

In today’s texts Jesus tells us not only that we should love both God and neighbor, but He also tells us how.  We must love God with our whole being— heart, mind, soul and strength.  We must love our neighbor as ourself.

If we love God with our whole being, then we will worship Him even while we work;  pray to Him whenever we have an opportunity; read His word and listen to His voice just as much as we listen to various news media on our phones, our radios or television sets.

From loving God with our whole being will follow loving our neighbor as ourselves.  We will look on their needs, feel their hurts and identify with their dreams as if they were our own.

By reaching out to love our neighbor as ourselves we will find that the Kingdom of God is very near.

For in loving our neighbor we will find wisdom, peace, and God.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell