To love your neighbor, first love yourself

Good News Reflection
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
March 12, 2010

Today's Readings:
Hosea 14:2-10
Ps 81:6-11, 14, 17
Mark 12:28-34
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031210.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_03_12.mp3

To love your neighbor, first love yourself

All of Jesus' teachings can be summed up in today's Gospel reading: "Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." When we love God fully, we can't help but love everyone else – even the "neighbors" who make our lives difficult.

Think of the person you love the most. Is it the one who's the easiest to serve? Do you enjoy doing good deeds for him or her more than for anyone else? This generous love is a reflection of your love for God.

Now think of the person you love the least. Is it someone you refuse to serve because of how he or she has hurt you? This is also a reflection of your love – or lack of it – for God.

Jesus never said that we have to enjoy doing good to our enemies. Hey, he didn't like being whipped and manhandled and jabbed and mocked and crucified, but that didn't stop him from offering himself as a sacrifice for you and for me and for the people we dislike. Since he did that for us, we can at least do small deeds of goodness that are no fun to do?

Love means choosing to do good whether we like it or not. To love with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength means choosing to let nothing prevent us from doing good, no matter how we might actually feel about it.

Love is not always a nice feeling. But love is always a choice that brings us into unity with the One Who Is Love.

As noted in today's first reading, we sin when we stumble in our treatment of others. Then, when we ask God to forgive our iniquity, we blossom spiritually like beautiful lilies and we bear good fruit.

However, we are not capable of loving others more than we love ourselves. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Loving ourselves and doing good for ourselves to get our needs met gives us the confidence and freedom we need to do good to others, especially when life is difficult.

Low self esteem is not God's plan for you. Let him heal your wounded heart. Let him correct bad messages that have cut you down. Let him point out your goodness and giftedness. Spend time observing yourself through his eyes. Pay attention to how much he appreciates you. He sees your goodness even when you can't.

God loves you with his whole heart, his whole soul, his whole mind, and his whole strength!

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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