#Jesus commanded love.

[pinestripe37]

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." ~1 John 4:8

"If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." ~1 John 4:20-21

[tajcox]

[fangirlforeversthings]

Anakin did at least once accidently call obi wan mom/mommy during his childhood since training with him and you can't never change my mind about that.

[dramoor]

[maripr]

I think John Ward deserves to break down a little at the end of FAITH bc he just destroyed the cult that groomed him since childhood and abused him and his childhood friend, he's managed to protect everyone he loves, he's realized God's been with him the entire time, he has fred all the souls that were taken hostages in the rite of the second death, and he has been forgiven by the very person he wronged. He deserves to break down a bit, after things have calmed down, as Lisa and Garcia both hold him as his falls on his knees and his shoulder shake and he holds his crucifix close like he's hugging it and he wails like a child and as the tears fall on the cross once bronze, they leave golden streak, cleansing his vision of it, cleansing his heart.

[aspirant1598]

[dirtytransmasc]

Alicent, exhausted, being forced to present her son to Viserys, panic in her eyes, hoping he is good enough for her husband:

[momentsbeforemass]

All one thing

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the familiar words of the Great Commandment.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

While it reads like two commandments, it really isn’t. It’s all one thing.

As St. Bede says, “neither of these two kinds of love is expressed with full maturity without the other, because God cannot be loved apart from our neighbor, nor our neighbor apart from God.”

Which means that if you’re trashing your neighbor, don’t imagine that things are right between you and God. The two loves are inseparable.

While the two are inseparable, the order is intentional. Because it’s an order of operation.

That is, if you “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” You will “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Why? Because you cannot love God without being loved by God.

And here’s the thing, the more you love God, the more you find yourself alive and overflowing with God’s love.

When you are alive with God’s love, it will spill over into every other part of your life. That’s why you end up loving your neighbor as yourself.

Because you literally cannot contain the love of God.

This is why St. Bede says that “neither of these two kinds of love is expressed with full maturity without the other, because God cannot be loved apart from our neighbor, nor our neighbor apart from God.”

And why St. John warns us that anyone who says “I love God” but hates his neighbor, is a liar.

A little advice from someone who’s stumbled on this one. Before you worry about anyone else living down to St. John’s warning, make sure you look in the mirror first.

Today’s Readings

[cheerfullycatholic]

Hmm methinks that only telling people "that's a sin, repent and believe in Christ" is the opposite of helpful

I think how it's worded is important too, but that's not the point of the post

[licorishh]

"The Bible is so sexist blah blah blah" okay. When it talks about how you can avoid doing stupid things in Proverbs it uses a man in its examples and personifies wisdom as a woman though which I think is pretty funny

[tajcox]

[fangirlforeversthings]

Random gifs of clone wars obi wan that makes me wanna:

*faints*

*Bonus for thunder thighs cody cause why not* 💋

[ahopefulbromantic]

Do y'all sometimes think of how that one Pharisee was like: "Soo Rabbi, what's the greatest commandment (that'll get him for sure good luck not messing this one up hehe I'm so smart)?"

Only for Jesus to look him straight in the eye and go: "I love you. I have always loved you. And the only thing I really want is for you to love Me back. And to spread our love to everyone and everything," with a full-on unwavering sincerity? How could a guy collect himself after that?!!

Cause yeah, I think about it a lot

Matthew 22, 35-40:

One of them [the Pharisees], an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

[hrsquotes]

Love is vertical: our relationship with God. Love is horizontal: our relationships with other humans. We cannot live out one while neglecting the other. They work best, benefiting our lives more, when we live out both hand-in-hand.

Jesus teaches us of this concept as He perfectly summed up the Ten Commandments in Matthew 22:37-39: 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Most Important Commandment

25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” — Luke 10:25-37 | New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved. Cross References: Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Deuteronomy 6:24; Leviticus 18:15; Leviticus 19:18; Isaiah 58:7; Matthew 10:5; Matthew 18:28; Matthew 19:16; Matthew 24:34; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:52; Luke 10:38; Luke 16:15; Luke 18:31; Luke 19:28

Read full chapter

The Greatest Commandment by Mark Jones

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan?

[theprayingteacher]

#Strength