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Gospel Reading for March 13, 2026 – Mark 12: 28-34
THEY BELONG TOGETHER
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, 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.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. 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.” 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.
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We cannot truly say that we love God if our love is not with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, because the object of our love is COMPLETELY PERFECT. We cannot offer him something partial or half-hearted. To do so would be no different from merely offering burnt offerings or performing ritual sacrifices without true devotion.
Yet loving God alone is not enough. He also commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. This places us on equal footing with our neighbor. Just as we cannot give God a half-hearted love, neither can we love our neighbor less. In fact, if we truly claim to love God, we must also love the people he places in our path. This is why these two commandments cannot be separated—THEY BELONG TOGETHER.
At times, it may seem difficult to choose God consistently, especially when the devil is always lurking, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5: 😎. Today, it seems the devil has even “upgraded his skills” and found his way into social media as well. Yet if we sincerely listen to what Jesus Christ teaches in the Sacred Scriptures and strive to follow him, the task becomes less daunting.
After all, God sent us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, so that we may not repeat what happened to Adam and Eve. We can no longer claim that we are too weak. Through the Holy Spirit, we are given the strength and inspiration to live the life that the Giver of life desires for us.
This is why, despite everything happening around us—especially the conflicts in the Middle East—we can still believe that the good people in this world outnumber those who do evil.
We pray, Lord, that you protect our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), especially those in the Middle East. Keep them safe from all harm!
