Henri Nouwen, a Dutch-born Catholic priest was a gifted Christian writer of several challenging spiritual books, served as a professor of pastoral theology, and a pastor in the last years of his life at L’Arche Daybreak, a community for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He wrote with great openness and vulnerability about faith and our spiritual life.  He died unexpectedly in 1996 at the age of 64.  Following is an excerpt of his understanding of the greatest commandment in our gospel reading this Sunday. Jesus’ primary concern was to be obedient to his Father, to live constantly in his presence. Only then did it become clear to him what his task was in his relationships with people. This also is the way he proposes for his apostles: “It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples” (John 15:8). Perhaps we must continually remind ourselves that the first commandment requiring us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind is indeed the first. I wonder if we really believe this. It seems that in fact we live as if we should give as much of our heart, soul, and mind as possible to our fellow human beings, while trying hard not to forget God. At least we feel that our attention should be divided evenly between God and our neighbor. But Jesus’ claim is much more radical. He asks for a single-minded commitment to God and God alone. God wants all of our heart, all of our mind, and all of our soul. It is this unconditional and unreserved love for God that leads to the care for our neighbor, not as an activity that distracts us from God or competes with our attention to God, but as an expression of our love for God who reveals himself to us as the God of all people. It is in God that we find our neighbors and discover our responsibility to them. We might even say that only in God does our neighbor become a neighbor rather than an infringement upon our autonomy, and that only in and through God does service become possible. And on a lighter note, Brennan Manning, a former Catholic priest within the Franciscan order, wrote a short reflection on the “Law of Mercy.”  The Lord abrogated the Law by permitting his disciples to pluck grain on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees were furious.  “See here!  
 
 
 
Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath.”  Jesus replied: “If you understood the meaning of the text, ‘It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men.” Several years ago when the Friday abstinence was still in force, a beleaguered fan approached me in Yankee Stadium.  It was a Friday.  “I had a long day, Father.  Not even time for lunch.  Worked overtime tonight.  I was wondering fi I could get a hot dog?”  Mentally, I thumbed through my moral theology manual for mitigating circumstances: nuclear holocaust, famine, lunar attack, wedding anniversary. . . .What would Jesus have said?  “Bring two!” 
Enjoy a hearty, delicious meal this Sunday morning at Sacred Heart parish hall.  On an overcast, damp cool day, the annual Fall Dinner and hospitality, will bring a warmth and goodness to your day.  Serving and carry outs begins after the 10:00am Mass. 
God Bless, Fr. Tim   
FYI:  “I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress. (President Ronald Reagan)