Introductory Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you indicated by your words and actions that I am called to love you and my neighbor. To do so, however, I need your grace. Confident in your generosity, I ask you to fill my heart with your divine charity so that I may be able to radiate your love to those around me.

 

Petition: Increase in my soul my love for you and for my neighbor. Show me how it is that you call me to love.

 

Gospel: Mk 12:28-34

 

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and besides him there is no other; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love ones neighbor as oneself, - this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any questions.

 

1. Which Commandment Is the First of All?

 

Within the Jewish tradition, the Law of Moses was of utmost importance; it was the means through which Israel responded to Gods alliance. Hence, to ask which is the most important commandment is equivalent to asking - "What is the meaning of life?" This desire comes from an inquisitive and sincere heart as Christs approval indicates.

 

Every soul, every individual cannot forgo the essential question about what God expects from him: The truth comes initially to the human being as a question: Does life have a meaning? Where is it going? At first sight, personal existence may seem completely meaningless. It is not necessary to turn to the philosophers of the absurd or to the provocative questioning found in the Book of Job in order to have doubts about lifes meaning. The daily experience of suffering - in ones own life and in the lives of others - and the array of facts which seem inexplicable to reason are enough to ensure that a question as dramatic as the question of meaning cannot be evaded. Fides et Ratio, 26.

 

 

2. You Shall Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart - and Your Neighbor as Yourself.

 

Any student is thankful to know what questions will be on the final exam. Thanks to the scribes question Christ is telling us precisely that: during the final judgment we will be asked about our love. "First, our love for God must be firm, because that is the love that is the foundation for all other loves" (Veritatis Splendor, 11). So if we want to love, we must depend on God, who is the source of love since he is love itself. Often, the relationship among men is so distorted because man first neglected his relationship to God; after disobeying God, Adam and Eve began to accuse one another.

 

However, if our love for God is authentic, it must express itself in love for ones neighbor: "Those who say, I love God, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen" (1 Jn 4: 20). Therefore, love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable.

 

3. You Are Not Far from the Kingdom of God.

 

We are pilgrims on this earth; our home is ultimately heaven. This explains why our longing will always go above and beyond what this world has to offer, "Our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee" (Confessions, St. Augustine, Book 1, Ch. 1). All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day remind us of this reality. We honor the souls that have achieved their final goal, and we ask for their intercession. We pray for those souls who after death continue to experience Gods purifying love. In doing so, we realize that the Church is much larger than that what we see - she consists also of our brothers and sisters who have preceded us in this life. This gives us hope that we too may achieve union with God and our brothers and sisters in heaven, so that we can continue for all eternity the loving relationships begun here on earth.

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I often seek my happiness in a selfish manner. Help me to understand that, "...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (Jn 12:34). Help me to offer in union with you the sacrifice of self-donation, which is pleasing to the Father.

 

Questionnaire: This optional questionnaire is intended to help you evaluate your life in light of the inspirations God just gave you during these moments you spent with him in prayer.

 

1. Do I place God first in my life, before studies, work, even my own likes? What are the practical consequences in my daily life which indicate that Christ is important to me?

 

2. Does my love of neighbor reflect Christ's love? Does it consist in self-donation? Is it open to all people?

 

3. Do I ever pray for the deceased and the souls in purgatory? Do I ask the saints for their intercession? Do I read the lives of the saints? Do I try to imitate their virtues?