03/11/2024

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Love God above all, love your neighbour as yourself.

These two are there in the Original Testament, The Tanakh, which Jesus would have probably known by heart. They are there in  Deuteronomy 6, 4 and Leviticus 19,18. 

I remember them as 6+4 = 10  as in commandments; and 1918 was the end of WW1 in which neighbours killed each other in cosmic quantities.

When I am asked “How can I love God?” I answer. Remember that love has two constituent parts: appreciation and respect and thus:

Strive to live life with the virtues Jesus Christ showed. Appreciate the beauty of creation and be grateful. Thank God. 

Love God by taking care of  S-O-N;  your Self, Others and Nature.

Look after your PIES – the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual parts of your life, taking exercise and watching your diet, reading and watching positive material, staying close to friends and taking time to talk with God; to pray.

Serve - rather than taking for granted - others and take care of nature. Avoid waste. 

When cleaning my teeth, I nowadays  remember to turn off the tap after I have wetted my toothbrush until I need to flush out my mouth. So often folk keep the tap running and waste a lot of water. Caring for this, reminds me of how precious water is in so many parts of the world.

For me, water is like words. I hate to see waste in both – hence the shortness of my homilies.