Feast of St. Frances of Rome

Mark 12:28-34

Today’s Gospel reading is the last confrontation that Jesus has with the religious authorities before his arrest and condemnation. He stresses the importance of loving God and loving our neighbor, in fact caring about our neighbor with the same intensity that we care about ourselves. For Jesus this single norm of love summed up the entire law and the whole message of the prophets. The rules and rituals of our faith bind us together as a Christian community, but the guiding rule in our lives is love. Faith expects more of us than regular church attendance.