October 25, 2026 -30th Sunday of Ordinary Time
This Sunday’s readings bring us to the very heart of our faith. When a scholar of the law tests Jesus with the question, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus answers without hesitation: “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” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Jesus does not invent something new. He draws from the deepest well of Israel’s tradition—the Shema that every faithful Jew recited daily—and pairs it with the command from Leviticus to love one’s neighbor. In doing so, He shows that authentic love of God and genuine love of neighbor are inseparable. One cannot claim to love God while ignoring the needs of those around us.
The first reading from Exodus makes this concrete. God commands His people not to oppress the alien, the widow, or the orphan, and not to exploit the poor. “If he cries out to me,” the Lord says, “I will hear him; for I am compassionate” (Exodus 22:26). God’s own heart is moved by the vulnerable. Our love for Him is measured, in part, by how we treat those who have little power or protection.
Saint Paul offers a living example in the second reading. The Thessalonians received the Gospel “in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,” and became models for other believers (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7). Their faith was not abstract; it was visible in the way they lived, turning from idols to serve the living God and awaiting His Son. Their love of God overflowed into a credible witness.
This Sunday invites us to examine our own lives in light of these two great commandments. Do we love God with our whole heart—not only in prayer and Sunday worship, but in the choices we make throughout the week? And does that love show itself in concrete care for our neighbor: the immigrant, the lonely, the struggling family, the person who feels forgotten?
Love is not a feeling we wait for; it is a decision we make daily. It looks like patience with a difficult relative, generosity toward someone in need, kindness to the stranger, and fidelity in our ordinary responsibilities. When we live this way, we fulfill the law and the prophets, and we become what the Thessalonians were: a living letter of Christ to the world.
As we approach the altar this Sunday, may we ask for the grace to love God more completely and to see His face in every neighbor. On these two commandments the whole Christian life depends.
God Bless everyone always!!!
Fr. Stan
