Sincerity of Heart

In the Old Testament, the Lord gives to Moses the 10 Commandments and the exhortation to love God with all of one's heart, soul, and strength.  In the New Testament, Jesus tells His disciples to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves.  Jesus further tells His followers that whatever they are do to the least of His people, they do to Him.  (Read Mt. 25:31-46).

What does it mean when we tell God we love Him?  Do we say we love Him because we make it to mass or service every Sunday?  Do we say we love Him because we say our prayers before we go to bed at nighttime?  Do we say we love Him because we donate money to charitable organizations?  The Church Father St. John Chrysostom famously said something that stopped me in my tracks and really made me think: "If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find him in the chalice."  Wow.  Think about that.  Especially for Catholics who believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.  If we, who profess that Jesus is truly present in the consecrated bread and wine do not profess to see Jesus in the beggar at the Church door, we really then do not believe in what we profess.  I think St. John Chrysostom was inspired by the passage from above (Mt. 25:40). 

God is not just found in Church.  God is within us - we who are made in the image and likeness of God.  Our love for God should move us to love those around us. If we truly love God, loving our brothers and sisters must necessarily follow.  If we profess to love God and yet ignore our neighbor in need then we are liars. We just love God with our words and not really with sincere hearts.  God desires humble, contrite, and sincere hearts and not verbose and empty prayers.  So today Jesus is inviting us to a deeper, more real and genuine relationship with God, one that takes over our entire being, and one that invites us to true, eternal love, a relationship in which our identity is rooted - the beloved of the Father. 

Let us heed Christ's message today, "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me."  It's time to not just only practice what we preach but to live out what we profess.

Father, reveal to me my heart, and give me the grace to love you more sincerely, and please remove the hardness of my heart and the blindness that prevents me from seeing You in those around me. 


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