Perfection of Law is in Love..

Praying for our brothers and sisters who are sick and for all health care professionals: St. Pope John Paul II designated February 11th, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, as World Day of the Sick. He says it is a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering and reminding us to see the face of Christ in our brothers and sisters who are sick. Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected for the salvation of humankind. In our cluster, we will be praying for people who are sick among us and all Health Care professionals on this weekend (February 11/12, 2023). At the Masses, there will be an opportunity to receive the Anointing of the Sick. This Sunday, Feb. 12th, we are celebrating World Marriage Sunday.  Let us pray for all married couples and those who are preparing for marriage. Thank you!

Once someone asked Mother Teresa, "What will we be judged on?" She responded, "I believe that when we die and the time comes for us to be judged, God will not ask how many good things we did in our lives, but only with how much love we did them.

"This is the third Sunday; we are reading the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5. Today’s  Gospel starts with a statement “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill…whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

”In the Old Testament time, whenever the Jews talk about scripture, they referred to The Law and The Prophets. Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law and Prophets (Matthew 1:23; 2:6, 15; 4:15-16; Luke 24:44-47). The Greek word for fulfill, plēroō, means to make complete, to bring to perfection. So, the new Moses, Jesus brought the Mosaic Law to perfection. Jesus is taking us to a higher standard. The scribes and Pharisees kept the letter of the law, but not its spirit; both are necessary for salvation (CCC 5024).

We remember Matthew 22:36, one of the scholars of the Law asked Jesus, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus quoted two Old Testament passages and gave the greatest Commandment: Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength” and Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The first one summarizes the first three Commandments and the second one summarizes the rest of the seven Commandments. The true spirit of the Law is “love."

Moses gave the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Jesus says, you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) and “Whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you…” (Matthew 5:21&22). Then he says that you heard “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), but I say to you… (Matthew 5:27), “It was also said, whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you… (Matthew 5:31). Again,  Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 24:1-5 says, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce, but I say to you…” (Matthew 31&32). Looking at Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11; and Leviticus 19:12, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you… (Matthew 5:33&34). Here we can see, the New Moses, Jesus relocating the authority by saying, you heard that, but I tell you this. Benedict XVI says, “Jesus' "I" is accorded a status that no teacher of the law can legitimately allow himself. The crowd feels this - Matthew tells us explicitly that the people "were alarmed" at this way of teaching. He teaches not as Rabbis do but as one who has "authority."

”In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus focuses not so much on action, but on the interior space from which actions flow. Here we find the very essence of who we are. Jesus came to fulfill the law by taking to us to the true spirit of the law, which is love. In the first reading, Ben Sira, the author says in the Book of Sirach, tells us that we are engulfed with the mercy and love of God. He is all around us and in us. He knows what is going on within us. He gives us a choice: choose Him or reject Him. If we choose Him, we live. If we reject Him, we die. God has given us the power to choose