Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday, October 25, 2026

My youngest sister was married two years ago, and she and her husband chose this Gospel passage to be proclaimed at their wedding ceremony.

And, within their wedding homily, I shared that the command to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is often eclipsed by the second command, which is to love your neighbor as yourself.


Jesus makes it really clear though: The first and most important command is to love God. Yet, through the years, I’ve heard people tell me that, since they love their neighbor as themselves, that’s all that really matters.


And I think it’s another way of saying, “I’m a good person. I don't need to go to church.” But, we know, being nice to other people doesn't make prayer, Mass, and the rest of what Jesus taught unnecessary.


And I was honored and so pleased that I could use my sister and her now husband as a beautiful example of what that looks like. 


Growing up, I noticed that, when my sisters dated boys, the boys usually did not go to Mass, but then these guys started to because they wanted to date my sisters. But, I also saw their willingness to start going to Mass as a sign of the wonderful quality of guy they were choosing. 


But, in my now brother-in-law’s case, he was already going to Mass every Sunday before he met my sister…I thought that was quite exceptional. And it showed me that his parents put God first in their home and in this young man’s life. Mass was not something they did if they had time. It was their first priority…But I'd like to note that football is extremely important to his family. I learned that I could never joke about the Bills missing a field goal in front of them…They would literally disown me…But football was never more important than their faithfulness to God.


And to parents who gave their children a good example, but whose adult children have stopped practicing their faith: please don’t assume you failed. As a well-known Catholic psychologist, Dr. Ray Guarendi, reminds parents that adult children still have to choose for themselves. You are not responsible for their adult decisions. But keep praying for them and loving them.

And, please know that loving God is not in competition with loving our neighbor. Rather, putting God first helps a husband and wife love each other and helps us to treat everyone better.


…Every week there is the temptation not to come to Mass, and there are temptations each day to put God second or lower. Yes, we fall. Come to Confession. Let God pick you back up. We absolutely need Jesus and his grace to follow His commands. 


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