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The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart?

Memorial of St. Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

M atthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. (35) And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. (36) "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" (37) And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. (38) This is the great and first commandment. (39) And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. (40) On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Meditation by Don Schwager

W hat is the purpose of God's law and commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law of Moses and the ritual requirements of the law. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Torah – the books of the Old Testament containing the Law of Moses – along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries on the law. The religious authorities tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose. Jesus summarized the whole of the law in two great commandments found in Deuteronomy  6:5 – "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" – and Leviticus 19:18 –  "you shall love your neighbor as yourself".

What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will.

What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises.

The Lord Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?

"Lord Jesus, your love surpasses all. Flood my heart with your love and increase my faith and hope in your promises. Help me to give myself in generous service to others as you have so generously given yourself to me."

Supplementary Reading

Perpetual Housecleaning!

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10

A bout ten years ago, I cleaned my house from top to bottom. I dusted every nook and cranny. I scrubbed the bath and every sink until they shone. I took a tough toothbrush to the grout in the tile of the kitchen countertop. And that house was clean! It had never been so clean!

Today - ten year later - it is still clean. I have never had to pick up another dust rag. I have never had to vacuum the rug again. I have never had to wash the kitchen counter. And my house looks just as clean as it did that day ten yeas ago.

Right? Wrong! The above piece of fiction is an illustration my sister Gretchen used on me as I lamented having to go through continual spiritual housecleaning. "When will God be done?" I moaned.

"Never!" She replied.

We continually need spiritual housecleaning, because we are living in a world that is dirty. Just as our houses and cars and clothes need to be maintained on a regular basis, so our hearts - our spiritual homes - also have to be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.

Although I didn’t like hearing her words of wisdom at the time, I recognized them as truth. Every day - not once a week, not once a month, certainly not once every ten years, or once in a lifetime, but all the time, throughout the day - we need to let God have His way with us, to clean us up and renew us.

Lord, live in my heart. I give You my entire life. My heart is Your home - and You can only live in a clean house. So clean my heart - Your home - today and every day - so You can live and shine more clearly through me. Amen.

Is there a room of your "house" that you have not yet allowed God to clean up? How long has it been since you’ve allowed Him to do a thorough heart-cleaning? – Sheila Coleman

GOD BLESS US ALL!

O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.

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