During this season of Lent, we take on various spiritual disciplines. We increase our prayer, practise penance, and make more space for spiritual reading; perhaps we avail ourselves of the sacrament of Reconciliation more frequently or attend a weekday Mass. All of these things are good and important, but they are not the heart of Lent.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asked a seemingly difficult question: he is asked to identify which, out of the more than six hundred laws recorded in the Old Testament, is the ‘first’ (i.e. the most important) of them all.

Jesus’ response is truly insightful, leading us to the beating heart of the whole Judeo-Christian tradition:
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mark 12:30-31).

These two precepts are more than simply the two most important laws. They are a summation of all the laws and teachings of our tradition. These represent the spiritual summit towards which all the laws, traditions, and practices lead.

The various disciplines of the law and, similarly, the disciplines of our Lenten journey call us to an ongoing journey of conversion. Each day, our lives are called to become, more and more, an act of worship offered to God. Day by day, we are called to grow in our capacity to love our brothers and sisters. Especially during this time of Lent, let us ask ourselves: How can I make my whole life a conscious act of worship? Furthermore, I can likewise consider: What is something concrete I can do as an act of love towards my neighbour?

by Fr Michael Grace