“… He is One and there is no other…” – Mark 12:32

       A retreat master once asked a group of novices who their role model was. The only condition was that the role model was to be someone living in the present time. When the answers were read out, it was a hodgepodge of family members, famous celebrities, politicians, humanitarians and religious personalities. No one had written “Jesus” as a role model. Is it a wonder?

       When we say we “love” the Lord, we declare it in the present tense because it is active, because He is, quite simply, alive. More alive and more real than your neighbor, or your boss, or even yourself. We sing it, we put it up on posters, we print it on our T-shirts, and we hear it declared in the streets: Jesus is alive.

      The blessing of our generation is that “we have not seen and yet believed.” The fact that Jesus is alive is not just a sound byte or a feel-good phrase we post on Instagram or Facebook. It is the anchor of our faith and we need to believe it, live it, and make it active and real in our lives. Rod Velez (rod.velez@gmail.com)

Reflection:Who is your role model and why? Condition: He or she has to be alive in the present time.

Reveal to us, O Lord, the times and the ways we take You for granted. Teach us to make You more real than what our senses tell us.

Tobiah and Sarah prayed and surrendered their marriage to God before they began their life as a couple. Like them, let us commend our life to the Lord more and ask for His grace to bless us abundantly.

10 When the angel Raphael and Tobiah had entered Media and were getting close to Ecbatana, 11 Raphael said to the boy, “Tobiah, my brother!” He replied, “Here I am!”He said: “Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours. He has a daughter named Sarah.” 7:1 So he brought him to the house of Raguel, whom they found seated by his courtyard gate. They greeted him first. He said to them, “Greetings to you too, brothers! Good health to you, and welcome!” And he brought them into his home. 9 Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock and gave them a cordial reception. When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael, “Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry my kinswoman Sarah.” 10 Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy: “Eat and drink and be merry tonight, for no man is more entitled to  marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother. Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you, because you are my closest relative. But I will explain the situation to you very frankly. 11 I have given her in marriage to seven men, all of whom were kinsmen of ours, and all died on the very night they approached her. But now, son, eat and drink. I am sure the Lord will look after you both.” Tobiah answered, “I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me.” Raguel said to him: “I will do it. She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses. Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven! Take your kinswoman; from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved. She is yours today and ever after. And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both. May he grant you mercy and peace.” 12 Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him. He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words: “Take her according to the law. According to the decree written in the Book of Moses she is your wife. Take her and bring her back safely to your father. And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity.” 13 Raquel then called Sarah’s mother and told her to bring a scroll, so that he might draw up a marriage contract stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife according to the decree of the Mosaic law. Her mother brought the scroll, and Raquel drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals. 14 Afterward they began to eat and drink. 15 Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said, “My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there.” 16 She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told, and brought the girl there. After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said: 17 “Be brave, my daughter. May the Lord grant you joy in place of your grief. Courage, my daughter.” Then she left. 8:4 When the girl’s parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, “My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance.” 5 She got up, and they started to pray and beg that  deliverance might be theirs. And they began to say: “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. 6 You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.’ 7 Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age.” 8 They said together, “Amen, amen,” 9 and went to bed for the night.

R: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

1 Blessed are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways! 2 For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. (R) 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; Your children like olive plants around your table. (R) 4 Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord. 5 The Lord bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. (R)

Love of God and love of neighbor are the essence of a good and holy life. Let us ensure that our decisions are aligned to these commands. If everyone would just choose the loving thing to do, then the world will be a much better place. It is not always easy to love when disciplining a child, for example, or taking a stand against injustice. We have to make difficult decisions so as to truly love.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.

28 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your 1God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying,  He is One and there is no other than he. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask

him any more questions.

think: In what ways can you further obey and live out these two commandments?

Read the Bible in one year 1 Kings 3-5

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

THE NATURE OF TRUE LOVE

The Gospel today invites us to consider the moral life in terms of two umbrella-like commands: love of God and love of neighbor. The second one is sometimes expressed in terms of doing unto others what you would want done to you. What might this tell us about the nature of love?

       The first thing we need to note is that love only makes sense when considered within the confines of a relationship — with God and with others. These relationships are both different and alike in that they are characterized by love. Yet when we talk about our relationship with God, we need to remember that His love is perfect and we are always struggling to imitate His perfection.

          God’s love is the starting point of any discussion as it is only in and through our experience of His love that we can love ourselves. Without God’s love, we would simply not exist. As Christians this is what we believe. We can only see the fullness of love in its expression by God, both within the Trinity and for each of us. God’s love is creative, unconditional and endures forever. Read through the psalms if you want to reflect on humanity’s celebration of its wonder.

             In hearing the call to love God in return for His love is the starting point of any true reflection on the nature of love. Let us welcome God’s love so that we will have a positive start to our reflection. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

---------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS -----------

Have you experienced the unconditional love of God in your life? What is your experience of love within your family, within your circle of friends?

Father in heaven, help me to open up my life to Your unconditional love so that I can better love You and my neighbor. Amen.