First Reading: Exodus 22:20-26
You shall not molest a stranger nor afflict him, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.
You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.
If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry. And my anger shall be kindled, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.
If you lend money to any of my people who is poor and dwells with you, you shall not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usury.
If you take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall give it back to him before sunset. For that is the only covering for his body, the clothing he sleeps in. If he cries out to me, I will hear him, for I am compassionate.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Second Reading: First Thessalonians 1:5c-10
You know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost.
So that you were made a pattern to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord was spread abroad, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we need not say anything.
For they themselves report of us what kind of entrance we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who has delivered us from the wrath to come.
Alleluia: John 14:23
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
But the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, came together. And one of them, a doctor of the law, asked him, tempting him: Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?
Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets.
Reflection
God does not speak in big theories today. He says - do not hurt the stranger, the widow, the orphan. Do not use someone's poverty to make money. If someone needs his only blanket to sleep, give it back before night. Why? Because I am compassionate, says the Lord, and I hear their cry.
Then Jesus makes it even simpler. All the law is just this: Love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself. You cannot say you love God and then ignore the person in front of you who is struggling.
The people of Thessalonica understood this. Even when life was hard, they had joy. And their faith became so real that everyone around them started talking about God. Our simple acts of mercy can do the same today.
Prayer
Lord, you are my strength. Teach me to love you not just with words, but with my whole heart. Open my eyes to see you in the stranger, the poor, and the lonely. Keep me from using people. Give me a compassionate heart like yours. Amen.
