Sunday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Intention: That the darkness of stigma, exclusion, and marginalization might be dispelled by the light of compassion, respect, and welcome for every person as a child of God.
Today’s Gospel | Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus 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.”
From the Fourth Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
This must be your goal when you instruct your disciples, that they live a Christian life and that your words become spirit and life for them. Your words will accomplish this because 1) they will be produced by the Spirit of God living in you, and 2) they will procure the Christian spirit for your disciples.
In possessing this spirit, which is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, they will live that true life which is so valuable to us because it leads surely to eternal life.
Guard against any human attitude toward your disciples; do not take pride in what you are doing. These two things are capable of spoiling all the good there is in the performance of your duties. What have you in this regard that has not been given to you? If it has been given to you, why are you boasting as if you had it on your own?
Keep, then, the goals of your work as completely pure as those of Jesus Christ; by this means you will draw his blessings and graces upon yourselves and all your labors.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your Son taught us that, to love you, we must love one another. So many times we judge and reject others, even going so far as to do so in your name. We pray that we will live our lives with humility and compassion, always welcoming one another and acknowledging our need for each other. Open our hearts to one another, especially anyone who is being ignored or forgotten. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.