Loving God Wholeheartedly and my Neighbour as Myself

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 25, 2026

Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40

William Blake, Christ Giving Sight to Bartimaeus

What is the reason for which we live in this world? It is to make this world beautiful, caring, loving and merciful. Each one may have his or her own views about this world and how one wants to make his or her life meaningful in fulfilling such a task. We cannot simply follow what others say and be like a parrot repeating what has been told to us. In this complex techno-centred super-intelligence world, our lives have turned out to be like machines, with less love, less compassion, less mercy and more ugliness than before. The reason is simple: we are becoming less human; there is less empathy, no niceties and only an "I don't care attitude". In this context, we have beautiful readings on this 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time reminding us that ultimately, it is only love that matters. Only love is credible. There is nothing less and nothing more.

1. Love is above everything

In today’s Gospel Matthew 22:34-40, a scholar of the law approaches Jesus with a question intended to test him: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” The question arises in a religious tradition that contains many commandments, rules, and regulations. People often debated which commandments were the most important and how they should be observed.

Jesus responds with remarkable clarity. He brings the whole of religious life into focus through two commandments: love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus does not dismiss the importance of the commandments. Rather, he makes it more meaningful. A genuine religious observance must lead us towards love. 

2. Recognizing God as love

Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. This is not a superficial or occasional love. It is a love that involves the whole person. To love God with all our heart means to place God at the centre of our desires, affections, and decisions. It means allowing God to shape our priorities rather than allowing money, power, success, status, or personal ambition to dominate our lives.

To love God with all our soul means to entrust our entire life to God. It involves faithfulness in moments of joy as well as in times of suffering, uncertainty, and disappointment. Prayer, worship, sacrifice, moral conduct, and service find their true meaning when they express our love for God and our love for one another.

3. Love in action is true love

Christianity is not merely about following rules; it is about becoming people who love as God loves. To love God with all our mind means to seek God's wisdom in the way we think, judge, and make decisions. Our faith should influence not only what we pray but also how we treat people, conduct our business, exercise authority, and respond to injustice.

The goal of the Christian life is not simply to know more about God, but to grow in love and become more like Christ. The more deeply we encounter God's love, the more generously we are invited to share that love with others. The Word of God invites us to discover God not only in prayer and worship but also in the people, responsibilities, and circumstances of everyday life.

Questions for self-reflection

1. Is there someone I need to forgive? Is there a relationship that needs healing? 
2. Where did I recognize God's presence today?
3. What can I do tomorrow to become a more loving person?

Prayer

Loving God, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, and mind, and to love my neighbours as myself. May my words, thoughts, and actions reflect your love and compassion. Give me the grace to forgive, the courage to serve, and the wisdom to treat every person with dignity and kindness. May my life become a living witness to your love in my family, workplace, and community. I make this prayer in Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.

- Fr. Olvin Veigas, SJ

E-mail: olvinveigas@jesuits.net

Blog: Celebrate Faith

Video: YouTube

23 October 2026

A Never Ending Call to Live our Responsibility

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 18, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 45:1,4–6; Psalm 96:1,3–5, 7–10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1–5; Matthew 22:15–21 

Peter Paul Rubens on Render unto Caesar

There are certain boundaries in our lives. We are free to do certain things, but others are not. The constitution of a country gives rights and duties to its citizens. We are bound by rules, laws, morality, values, norms, etc. Some are written, and others are not. Some are enforceable by law, and others are not. All these elements have come into being in our society through past experiences. It could be one way of maturing in our society. The liturgical readings on this 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time give us very fascinating episodes of how, even in the past, people struggled with questions of following something. Even though we might not like to follow something, that is the way it is.

1. Called to live our responsibility

In the Gospel of Matthew 22:15–21, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a politically sensitive question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” The question came not with sincerity, but with malice. Based on the answer, the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus. However, Jesus knew their thoughts, their hypocrisy, their malicious intent. With a simple coin that was found in the mouth of a fish, Jesus makes a straight but profound statement: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

A Generous God Who Strengthens Us

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time:  October 11, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 25:6–10; Psalm 23:1–6; Philippians 4:12–14, 19–20; Matthew 22:1–14

Paolo Veronese, The Wedding at Cana
To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/sfS_l9a2RSk

Our experience shows us that our God is a God of abundance. Perhaps there might be some not-so-happy experiences in our lives where we must have lacked something, the thing that we desired; even through prayer, we did not receive it. It might be some things, some wishes. It might be good health, or a right partner or a right job, or a right place to stay or right people as our good friends. We might have lost hope in believing in fact, in the person whom we believed and prayed for so long. However, ultimately, we have realized in our lives that God does take care of us through various people or some incidents where we felt that God is near and has cared for us. The liturgical readings on this 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time give us wonderful insights which emphasize that God is good and caring. Therefore, we must cultivate a desire to have such a God in our lives.

1. God's Generous and Universal Invitation

The Gospel of Matthew 22:1–14, the Parable of the Wedding Feast, speaks powerfully about God’s invitation, human freedom, and the kind of life that should follow from accepting God’s grace. The king prepares a magnificent wedding feast for his son. The feast represents the abundance of God’s Kingdom. God does not invite us because we have earned it; He invites us because He loves us.

Bearing Fruits Worthy of God's Reign

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 04, 2025

Readings: Isaiah 5:1–7; Psalm 80:9, 12–16, 19–20; Philippians 4:6–9;  Matthew 21:33–43

Speculum Darmstadt
To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/sLTdaxpq6_A

All of us desire to follow the right path. We strive to achieve what is true, noble, honourable, just, pure, lovely, gracious and excellent. We find meaning in doing such things. It also puts us into what we are called to be. Human behaviour is mysterious and sometimes mischievous. However, deviation is part of our lives. We stumble, fall and make no headway in our effort to make things beautiful and trustworthy. We lose ourselves on the way. Returning becomes difficult. Only with divine providence and assistance, we can make our way back to our original home. The liturgical readings on this 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time are teaching us nothing but life lessons. If the Prophet Isaiah speaks about his unhappiness over the Israelites and their deviant behaviour, Jesus gives a parable of a Vineyard with wicked and crooked tenants. St Paul gives us a hymn of joy and invites us to live in peace and be true to our calling.

1. A life filled with hope and assurance 

St Paul, writing to the Philippians 4:6–9, invites us to reflect on two important dimensions of our Christian life: Trusting God in every circumstance and bearing fruit through a life of faithfulness. He writes so beautifully that the following words must be on our lips every day: "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God." In other words, we must place everything in God's hands through prayer. In fact, prayer must lead to action, and faith must produce good fruits.