Matthew 22:36-39 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

As I have aged, I am leaving my teen years behind me now – I have experienced the growing sense of what truly matters in this life (I am actually in my sixties).  The realization that the stuff of this life can never make me really happy is an increasing experience.  As Paul says, If we have food and clothes we can be content. The only thing that truly matters, that will last forever and that will provide enduring joy, is to love God and love people.  

A Catholic hero of mine is St. Ignatius.  He was a very Godly man and deeply intimate with God.  He was very skilled at forming tools that help the people of God to grow in relationship with God.  One of his most focused statements is what he calls his “One Supreme Purpose.”  That statement roughly translated is this – To love, praise and serve God, and by doing so, to love and serve people.

Friends, I want to invite you today to renew your life focus.  Whether we use Ignatius or simply turn to the first and second commandment of the Bible, we are faced with a graphic truth.  The only enduring values of this life are all centered around loving God and loving people.  All real value and truth flow from these truths.  The confusion and fear of this world is often simply birthed as we fix our gaze on what is not of true value.  The stuff of this life is simply a tool to support what truly is valuable, a relationship with God through Christ and the love that flows from Him. 

Let’s start this day and pray for a new clarity for ourselves and those we love. Lord, help us to truly see all our lives in the eternal truth of one supreme purpose, to love and serve you.  God bless you!