Sep 07 2008
It’s simply good to know.
It was a fun-filled day today. I got up a bit early, cleaned the house with my roommate and grilled pork ribs for lunch. We were planning to go for dim sum but we got done too late. The dim sum place in the city ends the special at three o’ clock and we got done cleaning at two-thirty. It figures.
Anyway, after lunch, I took a shower and took a nap for an hour and a half. Got up and went to church for the 6:00 p.m. mass. I was actually pleased because I arrived on time. (That’s a rarity for me.) The readings pointed to how we as believers should tell our loved ones (or our friends for that matter) if they are doing anything that is not pleasing to God. If we notice it and we don’t say anything, we will be held accountable for it. My mind raced in an instant recalling all the times that I should have said something to my friends or my loved ones. There were plenty of occasions where I didn’t say anything. I let it go.
Then the gospel spoke about “the commandment”. I felt really good about the words of St. Paul were most striking because as I’ve said before, I’ve let go of a lot of laws. I didn’t dare memorize all the laws of the bible. All I really kept to model my life against is that one commandment that Christ gave us. “Love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul … and your neighbor as yourself.” Because when you follow this rule, you’ve covered the law.
It was particularly interesting when the words were read during mass today:
8 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
I got out of church with a smile on my face. It felt like an assurance from the Lord that what I have discovered during that one cold winter night at a monastery in Maryland is true. It is what I should follow and will forever be my guide.
I hope everyone else had a great weekend and that you feel the same way I do.
God Bless!
