Day 15: March 10

Readings:

And one of the scribes came, having heard them disputing and seeing that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God out of thy whole heart, and out of thy whole soul, and out of thy whole mind, and out of thy whole strength;this is the first commandment; and the second is like it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:28-31)

These are the general principles of all religions, by which everyone can be saved: To acknowledge God, and to refrain from doing evil because it is against God...The Lord provides that there shall be some religion nearly everywhere, and that there shall be these two things in every religion. The Lord also provides that every one who acknowledges God and refrains from doing evil because it is against God should have a place in heaven. For heaven in the complex resembles a single man, whose life or soul is the Lord. (Divine Providence 326:9)

Reflection:

All real religions teach the two great commandments. The Ten Commandments are an expansion of what we must do to genuinely love the Lord and our neighbor. How easy is it to actually love someone as much as ourselves?

previous		next