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July 19 | Love Your Neighbor
A.D. 327–379
Too many people think that the teachings of Jesus are impossible, and that is not so. They are certainly difficult, but difficult is not impossible. History is full of men and women who have celebrated life through these teachings.
Here’s one such teaching that is difficult, but not impossible. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
We need only look at the life of Saint Macrina to see a phenomenal example.
Macrina was born in modern-day Turkey, the oldest of ten siblings, with two younger brothers that would go on to become Church Fathers (Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa).
After her fiancé died young, Macrina decided not to marry, but to love her neighbors to the best of her ability. She and her mother converted their estate into a convent, and welcomed single women in with open arms. In the convent, all women were free and equal. Slaves were treated no differently than freeborn women. And love was Macrina’s rule for the convent: Do your duty, and love one another. Above all, love your neighbor.
Saint Macrina inspired a legacy of saints, both known and unknown, to go out into the world and love their neighbors.
This is a great ideal, but it is much more difficult in practice. If you thought loving a perfect God was hard, wait till you really try to love your imperfect neighbor. People can be obnoxious, selfish, irritating, impatient, arrogant, and endlessly creative in their ability to annoy you.
There is also something astoundingly difficult in Jesus’ assumption that you love yourself. This is perhaps what is most radical here, and also what is most often overlooked. It may also be one of the hardest aspects of the Christian faith to live. Jesus invites us to a total love of God and a generous love of neighbor, but he assumes that we already love ourselves. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is a connection between our ability to love ourselves in a healthy way and our ability to love our neighbor. If you despise yourself, and many of us do at different times in our lives, that needs to be attended to.
Love yourself. Love your neighbor. And then you’ll be able to fulfill one of Jesus’ hardest commandments, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Begin today.
DO I LOVE MYSELF? HOW COULD LOVING MYSELF CHANGE THE WAY I INTERACT WITH OTHERS?
I will love my neighbor as myself.
This reflection is brought to you from book title.
Feast Day: July 19
Feast Day Shared By: Saint Symmachus
Also Known As: Saint Macrina the Younger
Symbols: Sacred Scriptures