Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 21, 2026
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.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
In today’s gospel, Jesus gifts us with a 2-for-1 deal when defining the greatest commandment. Instead of simply answering the Sadducees’ question of which one commandment in the law is the greatest, Jesus highlights the importance of two commandments: loving the Lord, our God, with all of our heart, soul, and mind, as well as loving our neighbor as ourselves. Through this sequential listing of the two greatest commandments, Jesus emphasizes the unbreakable unity of one commandment with the other—one way of life simply cannot exist without the other.
How often do we believe that having a personal, one-on-one relationship with God is enough for our walks of faith? While Jesus invites us daily to grow intimately in relationship with his Father, I believe that in this gospel, Jesus tells us that nourishing this relationship alone is not enough to fully flourish in our faith and help others fully grow in their own faith.
Oftentimes, it can be easier to say, “I will pray for this person who is struggling in their faith” rather than actually going up to them and vulnerably asking them to join you in prayer. And while both actions listed are tremendously valuable and important in the eyes of our Lord, there is something so beautiful about complementing a life of inward faith with a life of outward discipleship. And the most amazing part of this combination is that we never have to go through periods of communal growth alone: God is at the center of it all, giving us the strength that we need to grow closer to him and each other every day.
Jesus calls us to love our neighbors and to love God—a call to will the good of our neighbors and of God. If we believe that God is the ultimate good, then willing the good of our neighbors is, essentially, willing God for our neighbors. That is what true love is.
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
Any Catholic who received first communion in second grade can thank Pope St. Pius X, who extended the practice to children, saying that “Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven.”
Joseph Sarto was born in 1835, one of eight children in a poor family; his father was a shoe cobbler. He was an excellent student, and felt an early call to the priesthood. After his ordinations, he was continually given new responsibilities because of the potential his superiors saw in him. In 1884 Joseph was named bishop of a region in Italy, and he became a cardinal ten years after that. He was elected pope in 1903 and took the name Pius X.
He was a rare pope in that he had extensive experience as a pastor of a parish before his election to the papacy in 1903. He had great concern for the everyday lives of the faithful and had a desire to “renew all things in Christ.” He was known for his simple and clear, direct homilies, and he encouraged all the faithful to read the Bible, which re-energized biblical studies.
Among his lasting contributions to the lives of Catholics: he encouraged frequent reception of Communion; began the renewal of the liturgy, which would flower in the Second Vatican Council; and gathered canon law into one code for the first time. His decree on the age for first Communion allowed children aged 7 and older to receive the Eucharist; the practice had been reserved for children at least 12 to 14 years old.
He was known as a holy man and encouraged personal piety through prayerful devotion and living with humility and simplicity. He had a soft spot in his heart for children—even as pope, he would carry candy in his pockets and walk the streets of Rome to encounter and teach children there.
His will contained one sentence: “I was born poor, I have lived poor, I wish to die poor.” The reliquary chapel in the Basilica contains nearly a dozen of his relics, and the museum in the Basilica holds one of his white, papal zucchettos (the small cap worn by bishops).
Pope St. Pius X, you renewed the Church and profoundly changed Catholic life--pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Pope St. Pius X is in the public domain. Last accessed March 27, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.