Vatican City, Nov 3, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday spoke about Jesus’ teaching that “all things must be done with love,” something, he said, that is essential for the faith of each person.
Every Sunday at noon, the pope appears at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to give a brief spiritual reflection before leading the Angelus, a traditional Marian prayer, in Latin.
Speaking to thousands of people gathered in the sunny Vatican square on Nov. 3, Francis commented on the day’s Gospel passage, which recounts one of Jesus’ many discussions in the temple of Jerusalem. In the scene, a scribe asks Jesus: “Which is the first of all the commandments?”
The question, the pontiff said, is a good one, and “essential for us too, for our life and for the journey of our faith.”
“Indeed, we too at times feel lost among so many things, and ask ourselves: but, in the end, what is the most important thing of all? Where can I find the center of my life, of my faith?” he said. “Jesus gives us the answer, putting together two commandments that are the primary ones: the love of God and the love of neighbor. And this is the heart of our faith.”
The pope underlined that when the Lord comes again, he will first and foremost ask us how we loved.
“It is important, then, to fix in our hearts the most important commandment,” he continued. “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself. And to carry out every day an examination of conscience and ask ourselves: is love for God and neighbor the center of my life? Does my prayer to God impel me to go out to my brothers and sisters and love them gratuitously? Do I recognize the presence of the Lord in the faces of others?”
Pope Francis quoted from his newest encyclical, Dilexit Nos, which is on the Sacred Heart: “We all — as we know — need to return to the heart of life and faith, because the heart is ‘the radical source of their strengths, convictions.’”
“And Jesus tells us that the source of everything is love, that we must never separate God from man,” he said. “The Lord says to the disciple of every time: in your journey, what counts are not the exterior practices, such as burnt offerings and sacrifices, but the readiness of heart with which you open yourself to God and to brethren in love.”
“We can do many things, but do them only for ourselves and without love, and this will not do; we do them with a distracted heart or even with a closed heart, and this will not do. All things must be done with love,” he emphasized.
After the Angelus, Pope Francis asked for prayers for Valencia, a region in southeast Spain, which was hit by devastating flash flooding on Oct. 29. Caused by a torrential downpour, the worst flooding the country has seen in decades has killed at least 214 people, while dozens are still missing, according to authorities.
The pope also praised the Italian group “Emergency,” which promotes Article 11 of the Italian constitution and says, “Italy rejects war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for the settlement of international disputes.”
“May this principle be implemented all over the world: may war be banished and issues be addressed through law and negotiations. Let weapons be silenced and space be made for dialogue. Let us pray for tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and South Sudan,” Francis said.
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“Jesus gives us the answer, love of God and the love of neighbor. This is the heart of our faith”. Very true. Would that these fine words be taken to heart? Love requires visible definition.
Love can be tough as the therapist would say to the addict. Enabling is easy love that satisfies both, accomplishes nothing of worth. As exclamation points, Why is regulation of emigration and rigid adherence to moral doctrine sinful? Why do we never hear, Repent! And penance for the remission of sins?
We cannot sincerely love another until we implement our love for God in accordance with the Greatest Commandment. Only after that can we sincerely love another as we love ourself in love for God. God desires that all men come unto Him hence we too should desire that all men come unto Him. God desires the best for us which is to spend eternity with Him therefore we should desire the best for our neighbors to spend eternity with Him having positioned ourselves to spend eternity with Him in thought, word and deed, practicing the virtue of charity, our love in action courageously.
We cannot love without repentance.
Love is a wonderful thing. Love is patient, love is kind. Without love we are good for nothing.