Oct 25 2020

First reading Exodus 22:20-26

If you are harsh with the widow and orphan, my anger will flare against you

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the sons of Israel this:

‘“You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans.

‘“If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him.

‘“If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.”’

Responsorial Psalm 17(18):2-4,47,51

I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, Lord, my strength,

my rock, my fortress, my saviour.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise,

when I call I am saved from my foes.

Long life to the Lord, my rock!

Praised be the God who saves me,

He has given great victories to his king

and shown his love for his anointed.

Second reading 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

You broke with idolatry and became servants of God; you are now waiting for his Son

You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.

Gospel Matthew 22:34-40

The commandments of love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus focuses attention, in the most simple terms, on the very essence of what it means to be a human being: to be a woman or a man is to live a life of love. At the last supper, Jesus asked us to love one another as he loves us (John 15:12).

If that is what he asks us to do, he must know that it is possible. We all know how important is this love which we have for our fellow human beings.

However it is not on this love that I wish to reflect now. For there is a more important love, and it is no accident that in today’s Gospel Jesus speaks first of our love for God. We are made in God’s image and thanks to Jesus we know that God is not an isolated, infinite, solitary being.

For us, real love (‘charity’) is the love that God pours into our hearts. When we offer this love to other people we are truly loving them as Christ loves us.

Love for God is the essential love of the human heart and every other love is possible only to the extent that we open our hearts to receive God’s love and live in communion of love with God.

So what does it mean to love God?

When the Bible speaks of love for God it generally refers not to feeling but to commitment to do God’s will. Love is a decision.

Just as true love for other people is a sharing in God’s love for them, so love for God is a sharing in the love that Jesus has for his Father. It is not something we can work up on our own. We are asked only to open our hearts and let the Spirit pour something of Jesus’ love into them.

St John of the Cross said ‘God will show you how to love Him as perfectly as you desire … Transforming your soul into his love, God gives you his own strength by which you can love Him’ (Spiritual Canticle 38,4).

It is natural to love God who loves us and who gives us the grace to respond in love. John of the Cross expresses this well as he addresses the soul: ‘O most beautiful of creatures, transcendent spirit, who long to know where your beloved is and where you may find him so as to be united with him. He dwells within you. You are yourself the tabernacle, his secret hiding place. Rejoice, exult, for all you could possibly desire, all your heart’s longing is so close, so intimate as to be within you; you cannot be without God’(Spiritual Canticle, 1,7).

Fr Michael Fallon msc