Pope Francis said “Jesus tells us that the source of everything is love,” and he assured that “the Lord will come and ask us first of all about love.”
This was expressed in his words before the Angelus prayer, which was held in front of the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday, November 3.
The Holy Father noted that today’s Gospel, taken from Mark 12:28-34, “speaks to us of one of the many discussions that Jesus had in the temple of Jerusalem,” in which a scribe asks him “Which is the first of all the commandments?”
“Jesus responds by putting together two fundamental words of the Mosaic law: ‘you shall love the Lord, your God’ and ‘you shall love your neighbour’,” the Pope recalled.
The Pontiff stressed that “this question is essential for us too, for our life and the journey of our faith,” because “we too, in fact, sometimes feel lost in so many things and we ask ourselves: but, in the end, what is the most important thing of all? Where can I find the center of my life, of my faith?”
“Jesus gives us the answer by uniting two of the most important commandments: ‘You shall love the Lord your God’ and ‘You shall love your neighbour.’ This is the heart of our faith.”
The Pope pointed out that “Jesus tells us that the source of everything is love, that we must never separate God from man,” emphasizing that “to the disciple of all times the Lord says: on your path what counts is not the external practices, such as holocausts and sacrifices, but the disposition of the heart with which you open yourself to God and to your brothers in love.”
“We can do many things, indeed, but doing them only for ourselves and without love, and that is not right; doing them with a distracted heart or with a closed heart, and that is not right. Everything must be done with love,” he stressed.
Francis said that “the Lord will come and ask us first of all about love: ‘How did you love?’, so “it is important to fix the most important commandment in our hearts. Which one? Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as yourself.”
“And every day let us examine our conscience and ask ourselves: is love for God and neighbor the center of my life? Does my prayer to God push me to go out to my brothers and sisters and love them freely? Do I recognize the presence of the Lord in the faces of others?”
“May the Virgin Mary, who carried the law of God imprinted in her immaculate heart, help us to love the
“Lord, brothers,” he asked.
After the Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Francis again addressed those suffering from the floods caused by the Isolated Depression at High Levels (DANA) in Spain, especially in Valencia, where the death toll is at least 214.
“And we continue to pray for Valencia, and the other communities in Spain, who are suffering so much these days. What do I do for the people of Valencia? Do I pray? Do I offer something? Think about this question,” he encouraged.
Let “war be prohibited”
The Holy Father also reiterated his call for peace, “and for this principle to be implemented throughout the world: war to be prohibited and problems to be addressed through law and negotiation.”
“Let the weapons be silenced and space be given to dialogue,” he urged, adding that “we pray for the martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and South Sudan.”