May the Lord give you peace in the Holy Spirit. It is on 25th August 2023. We reflect on Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14-16, 22; and the Gospel from Matthew 22:34-40.
Living without loving is merely existing for a selfish cause. Naomi and Ruth were different yet not distant. “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” Unconditional love wrapped in faith is life-giving. Magnanimity magnifies true love for God and for others. Diversity diffuses pressure among us. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself. God bless you.
The first reading from the Book of Ruth offers a powerful example for all those who go through human loss yet demonstrate love and loyalty with whatever they have. Ruth showed her utmost loyalty through her magnanimity to her mother-in-law Naomi.
A foreigner amidst the people of Israel, inspired and motivated by the faith of her mother-in-law became a lover of God through humble service and faithfulness. Whenever we go through a human loss in our lives, a huge vacuum is created.
The void that surfaces out of human loss can be refueled only through the deep love of God manifested in human relatedness. There must be a distinctively unique way of loving God. No one is to be loved supremely than God. In that supremacy of love, we continue our nobility and loyalty to fellow human beings. Trusting and respecting others is the basis and foundational elements of the best relationships. It would be very challenging and difficult to love God and to be faithful to God when we have issues relating to one another.
Recognizing and reconstructing the pieces of human disjointedness and brokenness, one finds God as the portion and the existential part of one’s living. A visible and travelable passage to love and meet God in person is our fellow human beings. Magnanimity magnifies true love for God and for others. When we do not feel anything bad while our human relationships are under attack, we will surely not feel any remorse whatsoever in the want of loving God.
The responsorial Psalm acclaims, “My soul, give praise to the Lord.” (Ps.145:2).
In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to blend loving God and our neighbor. The first and foremost human act is to love God and others. Our integral health subsists in loving God and others. May the Lord grant us the required strength to love God and our neighbours. May you have a day full of blessings.