Gospel: March 13, 2026

March 13, 2026 (Friday)

3rd Week of Lent

Psalter: Week 3 (Violet)

Day of abstinence from meat (ages 14 and up)

Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 & 17

I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

1st Reading: Hosea 14:2-10

Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

A teacher of the law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them. So he came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the law said to him, “Well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one, and there is no other besides him. To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

See Also

Onsets of Lent, Ramadan intersect

Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Reflection:

The true measure of loving God.

Jesus’ response to the teacher was pleasantly surprising. When asked which of the hundreds, if not thousands, of laws was the most important, Jesus did not respond with an esoteric or obscure commandment; instead, he referred to the Shema, a prayer familiar to all Jews, including children. Another novel twist introduced by Jesus is the unification of the command to love God with the imperative to love one’s neighbor. From this point forward, the true measure of loving God does not lie in our meticulous observance of religious rituals but in our love for God’s creation. Today, Jesus reassures us that following God’s will, while not easy, remains straightforward.

Every kindness we extend to others, every moment we heed our conscience—our inner voice—and each time we address our neighbor’s needs, we proclaim our love for God.