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Gospel Reading for August 22, 2025 – Matthew 22: 34-40
RIGHT DIRECTION
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.”
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During Jesus’ time, the Sadducees were from wealthy and aristocratic families with significant political and religious power. They rejected what the Pharisees taught. So now that the Pharisees heard that Jesus silenced the Sadducees, they probably wanted to show they were better, hence, put Jesus to the test. They failed to outsmart Jesus because he summed up the 10 Commandments into 2: Love for God and Love for neighbor.
But of course, the first to third Commandment: 1. Worship God Alone; 2. Respect for everything that is God’s; and 3. Respect for the Lord’s Day, are all focused on Love for God, while the fourth to the tenth: 4. Respect for Parents; 5. Respect for Life; 6 and 10. Respect for the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Family; 7 and 10. Respect for the property/ies of others; and 8. Respect for the Truth; are all focused on Love for Neighbor.
The religious groups during Jesus’ time were more focused on legalities rather than PRAXIS, upon which God’s judgment is based. If we are like them, it means that we do not understand why God gave us the 10 Commandments. They were given to us not for us to memorize but for us to have the RIGHT DIRECTION in life.
As we celebrate the Memorial of Mary’s Queenship, we remember her great love for God and for neighbor.
Mary, our Queen, teach us to be like you in all your ways!
