Friday of the 3rd week of Lent
St John of God
Gospel – Mark 12:28-34
“Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice”. This scribe understood the essence of all the law. That’s to love God and to love the neighbour is more important than any holocaust or sacrifice. This phrase opens up a big revelation. It means there could be sacrifices which are not acts of love to God or to neighbour. Of course, there are acts and sacrifices which are motivated only by our selfish interests. Or things which we think that they are actions or sacrifices of the love of God or of the love of neighbour. So it is important to make sure that our actions are really related to the love to God and to the love to neighbour. Our actions, and especially sacrifices must be devoid of our selfish interests in order to be oriented by the love to God or to the neighbour. Let’s reflect: Lent must help us to make sure that our sacrifices are motivated by love to God and by love to neighbour and not by selfish interests.
Friday 8 March
