Lenten message of Pope Francis based on Fratelli Tutti No. 235
_Inequality and lack of integral human development make peace impossible_
TODAY'S WORD
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore
"The Lord our God, is Lord alone. Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength"(Mk 12:29- 30)
"Love your neighbour as yourself" (Mk 12: 31)
TODAY'S REFLECTION
The images given in the 1st reading are of beautiful plants and flowers when the Lord heals the disloyalty of His people.
The Lord will fall like dew on His people, and they will bloom like the lily, the poplar, the olive and many other beautiful vegetation.
That also reminds us that when we sin, we dry up and become harsh like the desert.
But God's forgiveness is like streams of cool water that will make us bloom and become beautiful.
And we will also bear fruits of love for God and for others.
The Gospel of the Day is an exhortation by the Lord, to Love God with our "ALL"… All our heart would mean with all our emotions, feelings and desires.
All our soul would mean will, choices, decisions
All our mind would entail all our reason, knowledge and memory
All our strength would mean all our talents, our abilities our capacities and capabilities.
The Lord commands and demands a "total" and "complete" loving!
He demands an "absolute" and "unadulterated" love!
Love, as Jesus defines, is not simply about feelings and emotions, as is the popular and the 'commercial' understanding.
Undoubtedly, Love has the dimensions of being a tender feeling and an expressive emotion.
But beyond that, Love is…
# a conviction/a commitment
#a dedication
#a decision, that one makes to be faithful - to a person or a duty or a situation!
Life sometimes can be quite harsh to us - making us feel totally lost out, abandoned even by God and even causing us to question the presence and existence of a Just and Loving God…But, can we still dare to "love God"?
Life sometimes hits very hard at us - in the form of others not accepting us, others ridiculing, criticizing us and we finding ourselves as the subject of hatred and injustice.... But, can we still dare to "love our neighbours"?
Life sometimes is very unfair to us, we feel - by not rewarding us with rewards, that we consider, we deserve, in answer to the hard-work we put in.. or by not allowing us to enjoy the joys of life and instead bombards us with tensions and worries... Can we still go out of the way and live a life "In Love and For Love"?
When one's life is truly centered on love for God, one also begins to express this love to one's neighbours , in concrete and certain acts of love.
As Christians, we often…
… seek to find "loopholes" in laws of loving the Lord and our neighbour.… try to spot "gaps" in commandments which ask to love the Lord and our neighbour...
But the insistence of the Lord is clear:
"Love Fully"
"Love Totally"
"Love Completely"
This is the ideal to which we, as Christians are called!
If not for this highest ideal, our life as a Christian would cease to have a uniqueness!
As we make our lenten journey, the pertinent question of our faith that we face with we are constantly faced: “Do YOU love JESUS?”
This question is planted by the Spirit in our hearts and it put down its roots.
It demands an answer.
What is my answer?
RESOLUTION
Let's resolve to repent and turn away from sin.
Happy Friday
God bless you with a loving day.
Let's pray for our own return to the Lord.