Do You Love God First?
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
“I love you Lord, my strength.”Ps. 18
What is the first commandment in your daily life? What takes priority in your life? What love or passion do you dedicate the most sacrifices to? For some, it’s money; for others, health, appearance, food, sports, or even their own ego, and they dedicate hours, sweat, and tears to these. For others, it might be their possessions, pleasures, pets, etc.; whatever they dedicate the most sacrifices to becomes their god-idol.
Few offer their time, effort, and sacrifices to love God above all things, as asked in the first commandment, which means doing His will (John 14:15ff). Some might respond that family is the cause of their efforts and sacrifices. Would that be acceptable to God? Is it legitimate for a Christian? We can say yes, as long as they love from the love of God, maintaining their love for God and His divine will first. Otherwise, it would be a disordered and very limited love, lacking the discernment of God’s will for them, which is the way to truly love them.
“If you love your father or mother more than me, you are not worthy of me.”Matthew 10:37
But if we love them while respecting the priority of God’s love, we will have true love for them, seeking God’s will in them, thus truly loving them (1 John 5:3).
“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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…”Mark 12:28
Many settle for not killing or stealing, thinking that is enough, while forgetting the most important dimension, the vertical one, of the first commandment, and our obligation to God, which they often neglect, as if God were not our head and we did not have to do His will. This is the path Jesus lays out for us to be His disciples and to lead us on the path of life, so that we may have His complete joy (John 15:11).
“Listen, therefore, Israel, and take care to observe what will bring you happiness and prosperity…”Deuteronomy 6:3
The first thing is to love God; the main reason for our life is to know and love Him by doing His will. ONLY IN THIS WAY, open to His Spirit through faith, WILL WE HAVE TRUE, DIVINE LOVE to properly love everyone, as Jesus loved us and asks us to love each other, with the freedom of the children of God, so that we can truly love and thus give Him glory and please Him.
“A new commandment I give to you: That you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples.”John 13:34
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Dt 6:2-6/Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)/Heb 7:23-28/Mk 12:28b-34
Monday: Phil 2:1-4/Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3/Lk 14:12-14
Tuesday: Phil 2:5-11/Ps 22:26b-27, 28-30ab, 30c, 31-32//Lk 14:15-24
Wednesday: Phil 2:12-18/Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14/Lk 14:25-33
Thursday: Phil 3:3-8a/Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7/Lk 15:1-10
Friday: Phil 3:17-4:1/Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5/Lk 16:1-8
Saturday: Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9/1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22
Next Sunday: 1 Kgs 17:10-16/Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 (1b)/Heb 9:24-28/Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time; Daylight Time Saving Ends; National Vocation Awareness
Monday: St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Tuesday: Election Day
Saturday: The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Next Sunday: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
