Giving Our All

Today’s Readings: Tb 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a, Mark 12:28-34

REFLECTION
ALL. This word is repeated several times by Jesus the Master (v.30) – “with all of your heart”, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength”; and by the scribe (v.33) Loving God this way is even far better than all whole burnt offerings & sacrifices (v.33b).

Giving our ALL is what makes the difference for greatness. In sports, business, the arts & other human endeavors, giving our all means giving our best shot and giving everything we’ve got. Giving our all includes the willingness to die.But dying does not necessarily means “physical death”, to stop breahting, to cut off the links that connect us to the world and people around us. Death is not simply “functional”; when we refuse to act normally as we should, when we stop seeing the reason behind every experience, thus losing the “anima” or the life to start anew and be whole again or “Psychological Death”; when we look at death as the end of everything we hope for, when we refuse to see the brighter side of life, when everything we hold on to does not give a new meaning to our existence. Look at the radical lives of people who made an impact in the world. These are people who make a difference.

ALL – Looks like a simple word. Yet, it is an encompassing word which means “complete”.

The areas mentioned to express our “all-out” love are:
(1) Heart – the seat of our decisions & emotions
(2) Soul – our spiritual life
(3) Mind – our understanding & thought patterns
(4) Strength- our physical & human resources which include our money

The example of St.Paul of Tarsus exemplifies this “all-out” life who exhorts us in Romans 12:1 “to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship”.

PRAYER
Father in Heaven, you have been an “all-outer” for us that you have sent your only begotten Son to show us your great love. We thank you for Jesus who has offered His life to us even unto death so that we may know His love that brought us salvation. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that we may also have an “all-out” love for you & for our neighbor.