Daily Gospel Reflection for March 17, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

Today’s Gospel passage is both concise and profound. When I pull my favorite Bible from my bookshelf and turn to it, the margins nearby are heavy with my notes and reflections. And yet as often as I’ve pondered these verses, I know that I will spend a lifetime striving to live what they contain.

Questioned by the scribe, Jesus lays out the foundation for all Christian living: that we love the Lord, our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second commandment he shares builds naturally upon the first: that we love our neighbors as ourselves.

These words are easy to recite, but hard to live. I would venture that many of us can recite them by memory. Yet when we dive into the complexity of what they contain, we may find ourselves struggling to understand how we can ever live up to them. How can we possibly live up to this Gospel?

I propose that we begin right where we are. May our simple moments of morning prayer be the start of today’s love letter to the One who created us for the remarkable mission we will face as we march into this day, whatever it may hold for us. Let us invite Him to know every fiber of our being and to infuse us with the gifts that will help us to love those we encounter upon our day’s path. In loving our family, our co-workers, and our neighbors today, let us remember that we have the opportunity to love God as He asks us to: with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

With each simple act of giving, one breath of compassion, and one act of faith, we move another step forward to our call to true discipleship. Today, we continue the journey of a lifetime of love.

Ponder:

With a glance at my agenda for today, where might I find the opportunity to love my neighbor as myself?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, I long to love as You taught. May today be a gift of love and self to my Father in heaven and to every neighbor I encounter. Use me. I am fully Yours.

Click to tweet:
God uses us, right where we are, to love our neighbors in so many ways big and small. By loving and serving them, we live the first commandment. #DailyGospel

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