30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Cycle A

In today's Gospel, a scholar of the law asks Jesus a very important question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

The Jewish people had hundreds of religious laws and regulations. The scholar wanted Jesus to identify the most important one. Jesus answers with two commandments that summarize the whole of God's law:

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus teaches us that love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated. We cannot truly love God while ignoring the suffering of the people around us.

The first reading from Exodus makes this teaching very practical. God commands the Israelites not to oppress strangers, widows, or orphans. He reminds them that He hears the cries of the poor and suffering. In other words, our love for God must become visible through compassion, justice, and kindness toward others.

St. Paul, in the second reading, praises the Thessalonians because their faith became an example to others. Their Christian life proclaimed the Gospel not merely through words but through their actions.

Dear friends, we can pray the Rosary, attend Mass, adore the Blessed Sacrament, and observe many religious practices. These are essential expressions of our faith. But if we leave the church and refuse to forgive someone, ignore a lonely neighbor, or speak harshly to a family member, we must ask ourselves whether we are truly living the Gospel.

Jesus is asking us three simple questions today: Do I love God through daily prayer and obedience to His Word? Do I recognize Christ in the poor, the stranger, and the suffering? Do I treat others with the same kindness and understanding that I desire for myself?

Let us remember: the greatest proof of our love for God is the love we show to one another. When we love our neighbor, we make God's love visible in the world.

Fr. Tomy Thomas

2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal

By supporting the 2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you are supporting many programs and ministries of the Diocese of Camden and Saints Peter & Paul Parish. These ministries serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the hungry and challenged. When you support the South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you offer comfort to those in your parish, your community, and throughout the entire Diocese.

This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Mercy,” supports the social and spiritual needs of our 62 parishes and 29 schools, with social services, hospital chaplaincy, youth & teen campus ministries, Catholic education, pastoral care initiatives, vocations, and faith formation programs. 

Together we make a stronger community with faith, compassion, and mercy.

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