“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

Loving God is linked inextricably to loving other people.

All the rules in the Law flow from the ideas of loving God and loving others.

St. John Eudes, priest

St. Ezekiel Moreno, priest

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Ezekiel 37:1-14*

 The  hand  of  Yahweh

Was upon me. He brought me out and led me in spirit to the middle of the valley which was full of bone He made me walk to and fro among them and I could see there was a great number of them on the ground all along the valley and that they were very dry.

 Yah­weh said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” I said, “Lord Yahweh, only you know that.”  He then said, “Speak on my behalf concerning these bones; say to them:

Dry bones, hear the word of Yah­weh!  Yahweh says: I am going to put spirit in you and make you live.   I shall put sinews on you and make flesh grow on you; I shall cover you with skin and give you my spirit, that you may live. And you will know that I am Yahweh.”

I prophesied as I had been commanded and then there was a noise and commotion; the bones joined together.   I looked and saw that they had sinews, that flesh was growing on them and that he was covering them with skin. But there was no spirit in them.

So Yahweh said to me, “Speak on my behalf and call on the Spirit, son of man! Say to the Spirit: This is the word of Yahweh: Spirit, come from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bones and let them live!”

I prophesied as he had commanded me and breath entered them; they came alive, standing on their feet – a great, immense army!

He then said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all Israel. They keep saying: ‘Our bones are dry, hope has gone, it is the end of us.’ So prophesy! Say to them: This is what Yahweh says: I am going to open your tombs, I shall bring you out of your tombs, my peo­ple, and lead you back to the land of Israel.  

You will know that I am Yahweh, O my people! when I open your graves and bring you out of your graves,   when I put my spirit in you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know that I, Yahweh, have done what I said I would do.”

 

Ps 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Matthew 22:34-40

 When the Pharisees heard how Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. One of them, a teacher of the Law, tried to test him with this question,  “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law?”

 Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.   This is the first and the most important of the commandments.  But after this there is another one very similar to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Bringing Bones Back to Life

The third encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, was released when the entire world was suffering through the Covid-19 pandemic, bewildered, helpless, and clueless.

It was also a time (and it still is) when hypernationalism, narrowing of boundaries, rejection of migrants, extreme polarization in national discourse, religious persecution, etc., were on the upswing. The world felt like the dry bones in the vision of Ezekiel.

We felt dead. Life was sucked out of us, literally and figuratively. What can bring us back to life? The readings of the day tell us that a return to the ways of love-loving God and loving neighbor as ourselves-alone can put on sinews, flesh, and skin back on the dry bones and breathe life into them.

Love alone can triumph over the power of death: Placing God right at the center of our lives and then practicing fraternity and social friendship with all, transcending boundaries and sharing resources, as the encyclical advices us.