Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Reflection:

This passage from Matthew speaks of the “blue print” of us, our “goal” – who we are and what we are becoming. An account from the Desert Fathers speaks of this longing - “Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can, I keep a moderate discipline, with a little fasting, and prayer, and meditation, and quiet; and as far as I can I try to cleanse my heart of evil thoughts.  What else should I do?  Then the hermit stood up and spread out his hands to heaven, and his fingers shone like ten flames of fire, and he said ‘If you will, you can become all flame!” This quote speaks of becoming all “flames” in describing how we become this expression of love.

Response:

How are we becoming who God has claimed us to be? By the power of the Holy Spirit! As a people of God, we are already in that act of becoming – responding to the love God gave us through His Spirit by loving Him and others. Let’s pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us more with His love –so much so, that it is like becoming “all flames” – of light and power - as we display God’s love.