Because He First Loved Us
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Matthew 22: 34-40 – When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind… You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
As Christians we sometimes get caught up in the effort we must make in loving others. We tend to pay much attention to the sacrifices we make, and to the value of our efforts. While it is true that our efforts are valuable, focusing on them too much causes us to place the emphasis of the Christian life on our tiny works of love, instead of on God’s infinite work of love. The Scriptures testify that “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Love does not begin with us, it begins with God. So, before we focus on how much love we give, we should first focus on how much love we receive from God.
It will be easier for us to fall in love with God, our spouse, our parents, our children, if we give them time and make space for them in our lives. This makes our hearts available to be touched by them. This is why spouses should take enjoyable time alone on dates, and why parents and children should schedule fun, bonding experiences. Also, and most importantly, in our relationship with God we should seek to find opportunities that provide us with the necessary time and space to get away from the hustle and bustle and to focus on Him. We should do this in shorter ways daily, and we should do this in longer ways periodically. How many people have grown to know Jesus more personally because of a retreat, day camp, or pilgrimage? We should be looking for doable, enjoyable ways to take these opportunities with God; perhaps they will need to be brief. Still, making such efforts helps to ignite our faith more and more. In prayer consider if there is any opportunity or activity that may help us know and love Christ more.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above.(Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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