If we were to sum up all of the Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels, the one word summary is, “Love.” We hear that very clearly in this weekend’s Gospel. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Both sound simple to do, but our humanity complicates this. I do love God above all things, but there’s my to-do list and obligations that fill up my day, so I run out of time to pray. I love my neighbor, but if s/he cuts me off on the highway or does something to annoy me, then I don’t like them anymore. Both of the previous sentences are examples of how our humanness gets in the way.

Jesus’ message of loves includes God’s unconditional love for us. God knows we are human, and that we are imperfect. God still loves us in immeasurable ways. There is no way to quantify God’s love for us. Take some time this week to allow yourself to be still and feel God’s love for you. If it is helpful, set your phone alarm for 15 minutes of silence to be in God’s presence. When we allow ourselves to truly consider God’s love for us and allow it to penetrate our being, it is easier to love our neighbor. It changes our whole perspective.      

As Fr. Pedro Arrupe says in his famous poem Fall in Love: “Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.”