Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14-16, 22; Psalm 146; Matthew 22:34-40
In the Gospel, in response to the Pharisees Christ says love is the greatest commandment. We must love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves. Beloved in Christ, let us have a heart that loves genuinely and sincerely not artificially and falsely. In the first reading genuine love was demonstrated by Ruth. She said, “Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Beloved, let us learn to love sacrificially. St. Bernard whose memorial we celebrate today says love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.
LET US PRAY
O God, who made the Abbot Saint Bernard a man consumed with zeal for your house and a light shining and burning in your Church, grant, through his intercession, that we may be on fire with the same spirit and walk always as children of light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen