Reflections from the Heart – July 10, 2022

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Love is who we are and what we are about. Love is the cause of our being, the reason for our existence.  It is why we live and breathe. Love is who God is and who we are. Our Heavenly Father created us out of love and for no other reason. He did not need us and he still does not need us. Nevertheless, he loves us so much that he does not want to live without us. We do not add anything to God. He is perfect and the source of perfection. We do not complete God in any way. Rather, God completes and perfects us in every way.  So literally, we were created out of love, we were created for love, we were created to love. Say that aloud so you can hear your own voice say, “I was created out of love, I was created for love, I was created to love.” That is who we are – love. If you were able to take a human person and break us down to get to the core of our being, to see the very essence of who we are, you will find an ocean of God’s love imprinted in our heart and soul so deep it cannot be penetrated. It is unfathomable. You will find God’s love burning so brightly inside of you, so intense, it is unquenchable. It can never be extinguished. The love of God has been poured into our hearts so profoundly that we simply cannot wrap our minds around it. Words could never truly describe it. It must be experienced, shared, given, received. It is this profound reality and intimate love that created and saved us and now calls, invites, and commands us to love with all our heart, with all our being, with all our strength, and with all our mind – the very essence and source of love – God. Then, in that love, we are called to love one another as we have been loved. We must be reminded that we cannot give what we do not have. We cannot share what we have not received. We cannot be what we have not become. So come to the table of God’s profound love, the greatest expression of God’s love poured out for us and allow the love of God to heal, purify, refresh, strengthen and renew you in the love you were created to be.