When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "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."
Homily:
Once again the Pharisees put Jesus to the test by asking what the greatest commandments is. The Lord’s answer will change history forever: “You shall love God above all things, and your neighbor as yourself.” Love means loving the way God does: unconditionally! It means that if we say we love God, we will prove it to the whole world by the way we treat one another. A perfect example of what this unconditional love looks like is found in the life and death of Father Stan Rother, who was beatified in Oklahoma City, on September 23 of this year.
In December 1980 he sent a letter to the faithful in Oklahoma from his parish in Guatemala describing the violence that was taking place there. He wrote, “This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm: The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.”
In January 1981 Fr. Stan was warned that his name was on a death list—number eight on the list, to be exact—and that he should leave Guatemala immediately. Although reluctant to do so, he returned to Oklahoma, but he soon asked for permis-sion to return: “My people need me,” he said, “I can’t stay away from them any longer.” His brother Tom asked him, “Why do you want to go back? They’re going to kill you.” Fr. Stan replied, “A shepherd can’t run from his flock.”
As soon as he returned to Guatemala, he knew he was being watched. It was just after midnight, July 28, 1981, that gunmen broke into the church, and after a brief struggle, killed him. Father Stan was one of ten priests murdered in Guatemala that year. He was buried in his hometown in Oklahoma, and at the request of his former parishioners in Guatemala, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of the church where he had served.
The type of love Jesus is asking from us is the type that involves sacrifice. By virtue of our baptism, we now belong to the Royal Priesthood of All Believers. And what is the duty of a priest? To offer sacrifices! We are called to sacrifice our ego, our will, our selfishness, our anger on the altar of God’s love.
True love is all about sacrifice. If you want to see just how much God loves you, look at the crucifix. This is Love in Action. If you want to see how much God loves you, look at the Host at Mass. This is Love Made Flesh. If you want to see how much God loves you, sacrifice yourself for the good of others. This is Love Made Perfect.
But we can’t accomplish this love on our own; we need the supernatural grace of God. We receive this grace each time we participate in the sacramental life of the Church. Today, at this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus is asking you to obey his commandment to love one another—not just the ones who are easy to love, but especially those who are the most difficult. You may be tempted to say, “I can’t do this, Lord.” But you can—because the God of Love is with you, empowering you with his own Divine Sacrificial Love.