Today's Gospel in Art - You must love the Lord your God with all your heart

The Boating Party, by Mary Cassatt 1894 © National Gallery of Art, Washington

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 3rd June 2021 Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?' Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.'

The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.'

Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to question him any more.

Reflection on the Painting

Mary Cassatt was an American painter, born in Pennsylvania, but she lived much of her adult life in France where she was close friends with Edgar Degas. She exhibited with the Impressionists. One of only a handful of prominent woman Impressionist painters, she depicted social and private lives of women, highlighting the intimate bonds between mothers and children. In our painting we see a mother holding her child closely. Both are looking at the gentleman rower. We don't know if he is the father or simply a boatman taking them from A to B. Whatever is happening, it is a beautiful painting where motherly love is depicted and also the loving care which the boatsman is bestowing on the family to get them to where they want to go.

Time and time again, we find in the Bible that love should be the most important virtue we hold. It is love for our neighbour, our families (as in our painting here), friends, but above all, Jesus states 'you must love the Lord your God with all your heart'. This is the greatest commandment.

But… we need God's help to love Him! He has instilled inside each of us a longing to love Him. If that gets nurtured, our love will grow. Like a musician practising music, the more he applies himself, the better he will play. A rower will become better at rowing, the more he applies himself to rowing. So too with our love for God. The more we give ourselves to Him, the more we will love Him…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/825
Christian Art - www.christian.art