Love should be remembered every day, not just symbolically - on Valentine's Day or an anniversary. Consequently, love can be shown in various ways, not only to the beloved, but also to family, random people, and even animals or plants. A hint can be two commandments love, about which a few words in today's article.
Table of contents
The commandment to love God and neighbour
It is worth beginning by presenting the commandments themselves - very important for a Catholic - which will be discussed in more depth in a moment:
- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your thoughts.
- You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
As you can easily see, two important issues appear here - the heavenly and the earthly. This, by the way, is a very interesting look at how a Christian should act; all the time keeping an eye on the spiritual sphere, but at the same time not remaining detached from the totality of earthly life. The so-called new commandment of love is a clear guideline for both spheres, which should be expanded with commandments and such lists as the seven deadly sins in the Catechism.
What should love toward our neighbor be like?
Quite a bit of controversy in interpretations is caused by the second commandment of love. Do all the people we meet on our path require special treatment?
Very often loving our neighbor is explained as adopting certain good habits, in an unselfish way, which we ourselves would expect. It is not infrequently the giving of help, and sometimes a simple smile is enough. Most often it remains very important to treat the other person with understanding and kindness, to give him or her appropriate attention, and in no case to do harm.
The commandment to love God and neighbor contains so many qualities and requirements that it would be impossible to cover them all in a book of several hundred pages. It is a map of good behavior - difficult to work out especially when we know that we cannot count on our good attitudes being reciprocated. Nevertheless, it is worth overcoming pride and inconvenience to become a real role model.
The first commandment of love
The previously quoted content of the commandments comes from the Gospel of Matthew, from the 22nd chapter, where Jesus Christ He addresses the Pharisees. When speaking of his Father, he mentions him first. Importantly, God can be loved in many ways, such as through one's deeds and setting important goals in life and pursuing them. Small but significant gestures include attendance at Mass, receiving the sacraments, and devotion to prayer. Subordinating one's life to this commandment can also be difficult, but it always provides tangible spiritual benefits - peace of mind and the best path to salvation. All 2 commandments of love are incredibly important for a Catholic. Their content can be recalled in many life situations related to family, education, work. At the same time they can be an important answer to various problems and a motivator for further action.