Loving God and Neighbor
Fr. Kenneth E. Gragner, C.S.C.
Living Faith July-Aug-Sept 2010

 Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?  Luke 10:25

 YOU MIGHT EXPECT A LENGTHY answer for such an important question. But the answer Jesus gives is
 quite short. He simply tells you to love God with all the strength you have, and to love your neighbor as
 yourself.  That's it.  That's all you need!  Love like that, and you will inherit eternal life.

  Of course, it's easy to love when things go well, and we're surrounded by people we care about.  But
 how do we love when things don't go well, and we're hurt by people who are selfish and insensitive?  Per-
 haps that's the time to say to God, "Lord, I know what you are asking of me, but I find it hard to forgive. 
 Please give me the strength to forgive as you do and to love as you love."  We can trust in a favorable answer
 to this kind of prayer, for the compassionate Jesus has promised to be with us in all the difficulties of our lives. 

Reflection

One time, I had a hard time letting go of a grudge. While struggling with this, I had occasion to reflect on the gospel story of the man being lowered from the roof into the presence of Jesus.  Jesus forgave him his sins and then healed him.  As I was imaging this, the mat with the man would not descend into the room.  It simply would not go down.  I came to understand that unless I forgave the person against whom I had a grudge, we would be forever suspended and forgiveness and healing would not happen.  It was a great relief to let go of that grudge.  crsr