IFTTT Autopost 
Today, Catholic Christians celebrate the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In the Gospel passage we have today from St. Mark (12: 28b-34), we read about Jesus talking with a scribe. When the scribe asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered him by giving him the Triple Love Command:
“The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Though Jesus told his message in 2 sentences, the second sentences contains two commandments: Love others and love self. Many people, even people who should know better, ignore the “as yourself” of the commandments Jesus gave. That is why I call this the Triple Love Commandment.
It is easy to see why Catholic Christianity has always held that charity, also known as love, is the highest virtue of all.
This is a perfect Gospel selection for today, for in the United States, Catholics are beginning the National Vocation Awareness Week that goes from November 3-9, 2024. The NVAW is an annual week-long celebration dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life through prayer and education and support for those who are considering vocations to the ordained priesthood, diaconate, or religious life.
The photo above shows Father Darwin Medina, a native of Reitoca, F.M., Honduras, the pueblo where the headquarters of our parish, San Francisco de Asis is located. Father Darwin is the founding pastor of a new parish, Our Lady of Candelaria in Curarén, F.M., Honduras.
