how god planned for us to love him totally
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." —Mark 12:30
Christianity is not merely about loving God. Before Christ came to earth, many people loved God. Millions of non-Christians throughout the world love God now. Christianity is unlike any other religion, however, because it is about loving God as He is. Only Christians know and believe that God is our Father (Abba), that God is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16), and that God is Trinity: three Persons in one God. Because in Christ we have entered more deeply into the mystery of God, we are in a position to love God more, or even totally, with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds, and all our strength (Mk 12:30).
However, Christ's revelation of God leads us to a total love which is beyond our fallen, self-centered human nature. So the Lord has not only revealed God to us but also has given us a way to receive a new nature in which we share in His divinity (see 2 Pt 1:4). Through Baptism, we receive this new nature capable of total love of God as He is.
In about three weeks, all the Catholics of the world will be invited to renew their baptismal promises. In doing this, we renew our capacity to love totally the all-holy Triune God, Who is Love. Live your last half of Lent accordingly.
Prayer: Father, teach me total love for You as You are.
Promise: "Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them." —Hos 14:10
Praise: Jim, a security guard at a bank, was ordered by his boss to stop bringing his Bible to work. Jim respectfully refused and continued to read his Bible on his lunch break. A few months later, Jim's boss was fired.
Reference: (For a related teaching on Baptismal Promises, order, listen to, or download our CD 83-1, CD 83-3, CD 84-1, and CD 84-3 or our DVD 83 and DVD 84 on our website.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 24, 2018
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