Today is Nov. 3, the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
At Mass this Sunday, we hear proclaimed: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today” (Dt. 6:4-6).
For the people of Israel, the Shema — which means “to hear” or “to listen” in Hebrew — was a daily prayer, a reminder of God’s unique place in their lives. The prayer continues to be recited daily by traditionally observant Jews. It’s a declaration that God is one, the source of all that is; every good thing flows from him. As Catholics, we recognize this same truth in our own lives. There is one God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and love for him should define all that we are: our hearts, our souls and our strength.
When Deuteronomy commands us to love God “with all our heart,” it means more than just affection or sentiment. In the Hebrew understanding, the heart was the seat of the will. It is the place of decision-making. To love God with all our heart is to place him at the center of our lives, making him the source of our choices. This kind of love demands total commitment and trust, directing every aspect of our lives toward him.
The soul represents the very breath of life that God has given us. To love God with our soul is to live in constant awareness that life itself is a gift, and that our deepest fulfillment comes from union with God. It’s a love that reaches beyond the surface, seeking to align our spirit with his will, even in moments of suffering or doubt.
Finally, Deuteronomy calls us to love God with all our strength. This refers to our physical capacity and our actions. Love for God must be made manifest in what we do. Generous service — offering our time, talent and treasure — to glorify God and benefit others is at the core of our union with God. In practical terms, loving God with all our strength means making sacrifices in our daily lives to honor him, whether in our family, our work or in the ways we care for those in need.
Our entire relationship with God is founded on love. It’s a love that demands everything from us — our hearts, our souls and our strength — but it’s also a love that offers everything in return. God loved us first, and he continues to love us in ways we cannot fully comprehend.
Let us pray today that we might live each day in that love:
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
My Daily Visitor spiritual reflections are a dose of daily Catholic inspiration from Our Sunday Visitor magazine.
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