Here is an excerpt from the Pope’s reflection on today’s Gospel:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37; cf. Deut 6:5). Christ places love at the very center of our relationship with God. Indeed, it is not enough to know that God exists, that he is the only God, or that he is the Almighty. The Lord seeks a personal relationship with us: the one true God wants to become our God.
“In our encounter with him, the commandment of love is neither an obligation nor an imposition. Indeed, one cannot love ‘on command.’ Love for God is the very essence of human desire, which finds its fulfillment in communion with him. For this reason, our love can be authentic only when it is a response to his love, which always precedes us. From this arises the need for a total commitment that involves the whole person: heart, soul and mind.
“To the first commandment, the Lord adds a second: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mt 22:39). This rule of life springs from the same source; that is why Jesus says that it is similar to the first. Thanks to our close relationship with God, we are able to look at ourselves and our neighbors through the eyes of Christ, from his perspective. In this way, selfishness is overcome and even love for oneself becomes charity: our existence turns toward the other and becomes a gift for those around us.”