"You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans "If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.
Resp. Psalm: Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
Second Reading: 1Thes. 1:5-10
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and (with) much conviction. You know what sort of people we were (among) you for your sake. And you became imitator of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and (in) Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned t God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from (the) dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Gospel: Matthew 22:23-40
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Reflection:
Patty dela Rosa-Paat
In every organization rules or laws are very important. These are regulating principles which are implemented to achieve common goal. In school, offices, public or private places there are rules or guidelines to follow. Even in our very own house there is what we call “ Family Rules “.
When we were young our parents sets some rules to us. We don’t understand the “ Do’s and Don’ts “ which they repeatedly told us. It is very irritating that our parents are policing us, it creates pressures and it is really sickening.
We should understand that parenting is like planting seeds. They plant, they nurture and they harvest. It is not an easy job, for they need to do some sacrifices to achieve a good harvest. Our parents gave us rules for us to become a better person. These rules taught us to understand which behavior is acceptable and which is not. It encourages us to have a sense of responsibility and helps us to develop our positive attitude and self-discipline.
God being our Father also gives us rules to follow. He gave us commandments that would always be remembered. Like His creation it was beautifully and perfectly created. Remember that we are all created after His image. We are truly God’s highest form of creation. He set rules for He wanted us to fully understand the danger of sin and how it will destroy ourselves and our relationship to Him.
In New Testament the Ten Commandments were summed-up in to two greatest commandments. And these are:
First
God’s love for us is unconditional, sacrificial and self-less. He gave us more than what we expected. He never fails to forgive us every time we committed sin. God’s love is an Agape love. It goes beyond natural affection, a super natural love. God is the highest and purest form of love that could ever exist.
We all know that we should love God more than ourselves the question is how? In what way we can show our love for God? Jesus said in John 14:15 “ If you love me, keep my commands.”.
What God needs from us is a sincere love and obedience. If we love Him we must not break His law. We should love Him not only in words but also in deeds because to love Him in words isn’t helping enough.
Second
This commandment emphasized the man to man relationship. To love our neighbor is to love all human beings. Not just our family or friends. To love them it means to accept for who they are. To respect and to give regards with all their needs and desires as we respect and give regards to our own and treat them with utmost dignity and equally before God.
The church helps us to be compassionate and to understand our duty to our fellowmen through the works of mercy.
The church helps us to be compassionate and to understand our duty to our fellowmen through the works of mercy.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
- To feed the hungry
- To give drink to the thirsty
- To clothe the naked
- To visit and ransom the captives
- To shelter the homeless
- To visit the sick
- To bury the dead
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
Almighty God creator of heaven and earth we thank you for Your selfless and unconditional love. You gave us life so that we may live with dignity and pride to always know what life is meant for us. Give us wisdom to understand and the eyes to see the needs of others. We come to You as Your children and now we seek strength so that we may continue to love You and Your people. Amen.
- To admonish sinners
- To instruct the ignorant
- To counsel the doubtful
- To comfort the sorrowful
- To bear wrongs patiently
- To forgive all injuries
- To pray for the living and the dead
I read an article from an unknown author entitled “ 15 Ways God Won’t Ask “ the author said…
God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.
God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
God won’t ask about the fancy clothes you had in your closet, but will ask how many of those clothes helped the needy.
God won’t ask about your social status, but will ask what kind of class you displayed.
God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.
God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.
God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.
God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but will ask how you promoted others.
God won’t ask what your job title was, but will ask if you reformed your job to the best of your ability.
God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.
God won’t ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.
God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.
God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you treated your neighbors.
God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but will ask about the content of your character.
God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but will ask how many times they didn’t.
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