Matthew 22
One way to see if I love someone or not is to ask whether I enjoy being with the person. More precisely speaking, whether I appreciate the person’s presence itself. I can say I appreciate the person’s being, not because I receive certain benefits from the person nor because the person shares the same interests with me, nor because the person pleases me, but because I am simply happy to be with the person. When I love a person, I want to be with the person as much as I can.
These may sound too obvious, but, often we are not conscious of this simple truth of love, nor do we practice it. I doubt if I can say I love someone while I don’t have much desire to be with the person or when I avoid the person unconsciously.
We might call many kinds of charity acts as expressions of love. But I cannot but hesitate to declare I love the people who receive my charity. I may say I love charity acts, but I cannot heartily say I love those people if I choose rather not to be with them.
Then, I ask myself if I daily sit and spend time before the Lord’s presence in the parish church. And I ask myself if love to spend time with my parishioners. At these questions, I realize I have not been so faithful to the greatest commandments Jesus teaches in today’s gospel. I pray that the Lord may give me a heart full of loving desire for him and my neighbours.
