Reflection for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time…September 10, 2023

by Sr. Celeste Wobeter ND

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  Rom 13:8

Wow!  Just one simple command/expectation!  And we have fulfilled God’s law!  If only it were that simple!  There are some people who are so easy to love.  And then there are others who are a challenge to us, those who irritate us or those we want to avoid.  We all have that experience, don’t we?

Judy Cannato writes about this reality saying that those who irritate us, “if we allow them, they can be our truest, most faithful friends, for they call us to holiness of heart and soul.”  Hmmmm!

St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-6 speaks of love:

Love is patient,
love is kind.
It is not jealous.
Love is not pompous,
it is not inflated,
it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth.

Someone suggested to me that I replace the word Love with my name.  An eye-opening, heart-opening examination of conscience!  Try it.  See what it reveals to you.

As this Sunday’s Scripture states,

“Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”