For thousands of years, many people have tried to live their spiritual lives by following the letter of the law. They think that if you keep all the laws, all the regulations and rules, then you'll be just fine in the eyes of God. That is an ongoing temptation that we all must avoid.

Our spiritual lives are not fenced in by rules and regulations, no matter how good or holy they look. In fact, following the letter of the law can, in fact, be very harmful. The law can be a dangerous thing if it has the effect of lulling us into a state of being comfortable and satisfied with ourselves. Yes, I've kept the law-I've followed all the rules and regulations of the Church-I've done everything I was told to do. So what? Does that make me good?

The Scribe asked Jesus if he could tell him which of all the hundreds of laws was the greatest. Jesus answered that the most important thing that a person could do was to love God and one's neighbour.

What Jesus said about the law was this: keep all of the laws, but don't be content with just that. Go beyond the law-love. When you deeply and truly love, you will discover that you are keeping all the laws, but you won't be fooling yourself into thinking that you are good just because you know how to follow a set of regulations.

How many times in a day or a week are we faced with situations which call not for a legal, but a
human response-a loving response? Each morning when you first come face to face with your husband or wife, your child or parent, you are being called to love. Every time you answer the door or the phone, you are being called to love. Every hour of every day at work, you are being called
to love. Love God in a genuine and faithful way, and you will naturally have the desire to love your neighbour. Authentic love of God leads to authentic love of one another.
                                         Peace, Fr. John