We have all kinds of “guidelines” that keep us on the right path. What we remember first, of course, are all those tidbits of important info from our mothers as we were growing up…and even in our adult years! I’m sure you can make a list just like I can. Here are some of my mother’s favorites (thank you, Mom): brush your teeth after every meal…don’t wait to be asked to do something. When you see something to be done, just do it!...always clean up after yourself…NEVER take anything that doesn’t belong to you…work hard and complete every job…ALWAYS write thank you notes when you are given a gift. The list goes on and on! In addition to these “Mom Sayings,” our faith gives us other guides to follow. Early on in our lives we learned the Ten Commandments. They were kind of heavy, but they provided good parameters for us. In today’s passage of the Holy Gospel, Jesus kind of summarizes these commandments into two commandments which, when you think of it, cover all the bases of good behavior. Today we refer to these as the Two Great Commandments: love God and love your neighbor. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, means that we should be making God #1…numero uno! There are several means by which we can express our love for God and our gratitude to Him for His blessings…most of all we can do this by “loving our neighbor.” THIS is not so easy!!! It’s been written that it is easy to love God whom we do not see…but so hard to love our neighbor whom we DO see! We must remind ourselves that every human being is a child of God, made in God’s image, and the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. We are actually giving expression to our love of God by loving our neighbor as Jesus loves him or her. This means we have to help, support, encourage, forgive, and pray for everyone without discrimination based on color, race, gender, age, wealth or social status. Forgiveness is so vital. There is no place for grudges for revenge with this kind of love. There are no limits when it comes to love…real love. We spend a lifetime learning how to do this well. In the second century AD, a non-Christian named Aristides wrote to the Emperor Hadrian about the Christians. He said “Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If one of them has something, he gives freely to those who have nothing. If they see a stranger, Christians take him home and are as happy as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers through the Spirit, in God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail or persecuted for professing the name of their Redeemer, they give him all he needs. This is really a new kind of person. There is something divine in them.” No wonder the non-Christians of the first century used tell one another, “See how those Christians love one another.” GOSPEL QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Do you put limits on who you will love and how much you will love?