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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
Terranova Hermitage
October 29, 2017
Learning to Love
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Learn to Love
Some years ago, I came across a book by a
psychologist named Daniel Allender.
In the book, Doctor Allender tells about a
conversation he had with a man named Tom.
They were sitting next to each other on an airplane and Daniel tells Tom
that he is on his way to give a presentation about love and forgiveness.
Tom admits that we all need to be reminded of
these things, but then he quickly focuses on his career. Tom mentions that what pleases him most about
his children is their intense focus on career and success.
Tom also mentions that his three children have
been through a total of five divorces. He
has not seen some of his grandchildren for years.
Doctor Allender asks him if it might be
important to teach his children how to love and maintain commitment. Tom responds that he just figured that his
children would learn this naturally, on their own.
Daniel Allender concludes that often we do not
naturally know how to be loving persons.
We need to be taught and we need to teach our children how to love.
How to
Love
This psychologist makes an excellent point in
relation to today’s gospel.
Jesus gives us the two great commandments of
love. But the question is: how do we love?
How are we to love God and love one
another? This morning I want to offer some
recommendations for the “how-to” of each of these commandments.
How to Love God
So, first, I think the primary way of loving
God is by praying.
Our coming to Mass, really giving ourselves to
this and participating in it as best we can is an expression of our love for
God. Of course, we are also loving God
by desiring to receive Communion and realizing that this is the heartbeat of
our life.
And then, we love God by praying privately,
personally on our own. Some kind of
prayer every day, yes, some kind of prayer every day is a real expression of
our love for God.
It could be reading a short passage from the
gospels and just letting that be with us through the day or it could be praying
the rosary. It could be speaking to God
in our own words – maybe just thanking God for something or someone each day.
If you want some help with how to pray on your
own, check with one of us priests or one of the deacons and we could offer some
ideas. So, weekly Mass and daily prayer
– that’s a primary way for how to love
God.
How to Love Others
And
then, how are we to love one another?
On an
interpersonal level, we need to approach relationships with the expectation
that they take some work. This is true
of marriage, of parent-child relationships, and of friendship.
So, for
example, we need to be willing to listen and try to understand the thoughts and
feelings of others. Sometimes we need to
process our own thoughts and feelings silently before we speak and then express
ourselves thoughtfully and not in an “in-your-face” way.
On an
interpersonal level, this is something of how to love one another. We also need to care for others on the
bigger, of our society in general.
For
example, to take a hot-button issue, we as a country need a sensible
immigration policy. I do not know what
that policy should be, but we need a policy and we also need to do what we can to
help others.
Look at
the Lord’s words in the first reading.
He warns his people not to oppress aliens because you were once aliens
yourselves.
The
Lord concludes his statement by saying “I
am compassionate” and he wants us to be compassionate. So, we need to refrain from negative stereotyping
people from Syria or Somalia or Mexico or wherever they come from.
We need
to want to do what we can to help. This
is also part of how to love one another.
Conclusion
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