03/13/2026
WORD Today
March 13, 2026
(A reflection on the Bible readings in today's Holy Mass)
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Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34
Please read the Bible passages first:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030824.cfm
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Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God… and… You shall love your neighbor."
In Old Testament times, when God's children were still spiritually immature, He gave Moses simplified laws, the Ten Commandments. These commandments were not meant to limit freedom but to guide His people away from sin and toward life. Like clear signposts on a road, they showed Israel the basic direction they needed to walk with God.
In the New Testament, God sends Jesus, our new and greater Moses, to lead us into full spiritual maturity. When the scribe asks Him which commandment is the greatest, Jesus reveals the heart of the entire Law: Love. Love for God and love for neighbor. Every commandment flows from these two.
The first three commandments teach us how to love God above all things. The remaining seven teach us how to love the people around us. Jesus shows that the Law was never just about avoiding sin; it was always about learning how to love rightly.
As mature Christians, we grow beyond merely avoiding wrongdoing into doing good. "You shall not kill" grows into giving life, encouragement, and kindness to others. "You shall not steal" grows into generosity and sharing with those in need. "You shall not commit adultery" grows into faithful, lifelong love for our spouse. In other words, love fulfills the law not by ignoring it, but by bringing it to its fullest meaning.
Yet Jesus did not abolish the Ten Commandments. They remain the sure guide for every generation. As the prophet Hosea reminds us, "Straight are the paths of the LORD; in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them." God's commandments are straight paths for they lead directly to life with Him.
We might think of them as the white and yellow lines painted on the highway of life. They do not imprison the driver; they keep him from crashing. By staying within those lines, we travel safely toward our destination.
The destination, of course, is Heaven. And the road that leads there is love - love for God and love for neighbor - lived faithfully within the beautiful boundaries God has given us.
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Video:
LOVE THE LORD, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
https://youtu.be/A5ROSrWvi_o
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