+(Intro) We will hear from St Paul this morning that “if we have died with Christ, we shall also live with him” so as we celebrate these sacred mysteries let us be mindful of the times we have failed to die with Christ so as to live with him.
(After the Gospel) What we have just heard is the only time in the NT that I can remember where Jesus and one of the scribes are in full agreement. We are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, with all or strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.
At times I find myself asking how am I going to love God and my neighbor with this kind of love, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? My own efforts fall miserably short and I wonder if perhaps this is why it is the first and most important of all the commandments. It is only with the grace of God, the gift of the Holy Spirit that I can begin to love as God commands. The calling down upon our gifts of bread and wine the Holy Spirit is how our own lives are consecrated and given to God.
Tim 2:8-15; Mark 12:28-34