Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 22, 2025
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
For a long time, I mainly focused on the first half of what Jesus said: loving God with all of me. Everything I did was aimed to please God, and in return, I was filled with God’s love. I set routines for myself that made sure I was praising God—like praying the rosary, attending daily Mass, and protecting my time for personal prayer. My only focus was my desire for God. It wasn’t easy, but it was possible and beautiful.
When this routine was shaken up last year, I panicked. How can I give God praise now? I felt disappointed in myself for not being able to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to Mass, even if that meant getting only 5 hours of sleep. I would beat myself up inside, saying, “If I loved God enough, surely I would.” I started to doubt my love for God. I was upset when I missed the 11:30 a.m. Mass because literacy tutoring had run late, or when a friend asked me for help during the time I had set aside for prayer. I wondered, God, why aren’t you helping me? I thought you wanted me to do all these things.
Over time, I came to realise that I was praising the routine and I had forgotten that the greatest commandment works in tandem with the second one: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I was giving God praise when I was tutoring those kindergarten students, I was giving God praise when I patiently listened to my friend or went on rounds on duty, I was giving God praise when I chose to talk to God on my walk to class.
Having my routine fall apart was a difficult experience, but God gently expanded my heart so that I could love others better and, through that, so that I could receive more of God. Now, when I’m most busy and frustrated, even at times when I have no words to talk to God, I feel God’s love in others.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you sent your Son into the world, not to upend the law, but to fulfill it. We rejoice in the knowledge that above all else you have commanded us to love. Thank you, Lord, for the kindness and wisdom of this law. May we spend our lives focused on these two great commandments. Come Holy Spirit, help us to love. Amen.
Saint of the Day
With this feast day the Church proclaims that Mary is Queen of Heaven because she so closely collaborated with Christ in the plan of salvation.
We call Jesus “Lord” and celebrate the feast of Christ the King in November, all the while recalling that his kingship is defined by his willingness to lay down his life for us. This model of leadership through service was taken up perfectly by Mary.
Mary laid down her life for us as well—she set herself aside when she said “yes” to God’s invitation to bear Jesus into the world. From that moment on, she remained close to Jesus, walking with him for every step of his earthly journey—including his ministry, suffering, and death. This closeness is depicted in an image in the Cavanaugh Hall chapel—Mary contemplates a crown of thorns while holding the infant Jesus.
This is why we revere Mary as Queen—we recognize her special place in the plan of salvation, while recalling that her queenship is really a participation in the lordship of Jesus. This is our calling as well—to conform ourselves to Christ by laying down our lives as Mary did.
This feast falls a week after the feast of Mary’s Assumption because major feasts in the Church are celebrated for a period of eight days (known as an “octave”). Mary’s coronation as Queen of Heaven is imagined in several scenes in the Basilica and in chapels across campus. The reliquary chapel in the Basilica contains a fragment of Mary’s veil.
Mary, Queen of Heaven, you laid down your life with Christ, pray for us!