THURSDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Love.
Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
If we understood charity, the act of love that pours forth from the Father into our hearts, imagine what the world would look like today. Charity is not a feeling or an emotion. Charity is an act. We chose to love the Lord. We decide to love others.
God doesn't stop loving us if we turn away from Him. Can you and I say the same? Do we continue to love the people that have hurt us in some way?
Do we love everyone? Equally? Do we see more value in one person's life over another? Are we open to everyone?
A black man was tragically killed by a white officer; the nation took notice; people stood up.
A black baby was tragically ripped limb from limb by a white doctor, and no one noticed, no one stood up.
This is not love. Love doesn't have restrictions, conditions, or qualifications. Love is the act of being open to all life, protecting all life.
Change begins in each person's heart. A heart filled with bitterness, hatred, anger, fear, or prejudice has no room for love and no room for the Lord. When we empty ourselves, out of love for God, change will be possible in every heart.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my Savior. Teach me your ways, O Lord. Psalm 25