LET LOVE FLOW
“And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” - Mark 12:33
When I was a teenager, I attended a retreat at the University of Notre Dame. I thought the week would be fun and exciting; I was in no way prepared for the deep feelings of sadness and inadequacy I experienced when I arrived. I felt like every talk I listened to highlighted the gap between who I wanted to be and the sinner I was. Towards the end of the week, I prepared to attend a talk on the theme of holiness. Great. I was dreading this talk and the inevitable “holiness to-do list” that would follow…
Much to my surprise, there was no to-do list. I didn’t leave the session filled with shame. Instead, I felt lighter and more joyful than I had all week, all month, all year! The speaker shared the image of hands. The first image was of hands downturned: tense, grasping. The next image was of relaxed hands with palms facing heaven. This, the speaker said, is the difference between sin and holiness. When we try to control, to take, to muscle our way through – sin often enters our life. Yet when we stop, relax, and receive, God pours his holiness out into us. No to-do list, just open hands. Willingness to receive. How incredibly freeing!
Today’s Gospel reminds me of this moment in my life because Jesus’s message strikes me with a similar simplicity. While his call to love God above all else and love neighbor as self is far from easy to practice, it is so much simpler than the myriad ways we try to “earn” the kingdom of God. It is an openness and a willingness to let his Great Love flow through us.
How can I open my hands to allow Great Love to flow through me today?
Samantha Soriano