For love of God and neighbour is to share the Good News. That Christ died for our sins and by rising from the dead we have hope of eternal life with Him. He is the Resurrection and the life! The wellspring of life is offered to us all who believe in Him. How can withhold this wonderful news from our neighbour we profess to love? How can we not share this news with all we meet when it comes from the very Lord our God; whom we claim to love with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength.
We turn to You, our faithful Lord and God. Give us the grace to boldly proclaim the Good News, that You had come not to condemn the world but to save it through You. So that we shall have life to the full in You. Amen
Saint Norbert, pray for us…
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First reading
2 Timothy 2:8-15
If we have died with Christ then we shall live with Christ
Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.
Here is a saying that you can rely on:
If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.
If we disown him, then he will disown us.
We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful, for he cannot disown his own self.
Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there is to be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening. Do all you can to present yourself in front of God as a man who has come through his trials, and a man who has no cause to be ashamed of his life’s work and has kept a straight course with the message of the truth.
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Gospel
Mark 12:28-34
‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’
One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
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