Thursday, June 7, 2018
TODAY'S REFLECTION - THURSDAY-9TH WEEK- ORDINARY TIME
Venerable Thomas a` Kempis, Confessor
2 Timothy 2:8-15/ Psalm 24:4-5,8-10,14/ Mark 12:28-34
LOVE GOD-IN-YOUR-NEIGHBOUR
Beloved, St. Paul encountered a number of hardships in his efforts to bear credible witness (2 Corinthians 11:24-24). However, his hope was to reign with Christ. His advice to Timothy and also to us is to die with Christ, in order to rise and live with him, despite the trials on earth.
Friends, after the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees, a Scribe, an interpreter of the law, also asked Jesus a question: What is the first of all the commandments? Jesus' answer was: love God with your whole being and love your neighbour as yourself. The two cannot be separated. This demands sacrifice, endurance and patience.
We have every reason to love God and our neighbour. We are all created, out of love, in the image and likeness of God. God loved us first. He gave us life freely. We are all His children, etc. To hate God and our neighbour is to love sin. Sin enslaves us. If we love God, we will worship Him, give Him glory and honour. We need to do God's will more faithfully and fulfil our duties as expected .True love of God and neighbour is nourished by fervent prayer, reception of the sacraments, constant struggle to overcome our defects and efforts to draw closer to God. Let us pray for the grace to endure trials. We also pray for the grace to truly love God and our neighbour in word and deed. BE BLESSED
Fr. Gaa (0206854323/0240308878)