Reflection for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2026

Isaiah 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37

If you choose, you can keep the Commandments, they will save you

As a young woman phoned her mother from hundreds of miles away to share her decision to enter the convent, there was a long, tender pause on the line. Katherine waited.  Her mom slowly replied:  “I ask the Lord what He wants of me and the answer is always the same – more.”  This response told the girl three important things:  her mother would miss her; her faith was strong; and she would also willingly offer to God the sacrifice He was asking of her.  Love launched the message, and the response.

This is the day after Saint Valentine’s Day, the day on which many Americans celebrate love. We hope you have sweet memories of this day, but memories may dissolve as quickly as the sweet taste of chocolate.  Our longing for the longer-lasting security of love won’t fade or diminish, however.  How do your dearest ones show you the sincerity of their love?  It is likely not just by nice gifts.  They do things that please you, according to your preferences, and activities that you enjoy.

Love is a relationship.  The most precious proof of love that God or another person can make for us, is that of their free decision to please us. Our loved ones change plans for us, and we do the same for them.  God himself enters our life to answer our needs and sometimes even our desires!  There is no limit to His love for us, and answering our prayers is one way He shows it.

In a similar way, we know that we return love to God when we choose to conform our wills to His. We do what He asks.  The more effort this takes, the more love is shown. “If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15),” Jesus said it so simply that it is easy to forget how much his statement includes.  If I love God, I follow His designs, not mine.

The choice to love or not is mine, however. The consequences of my choices are mine, as well, and today’s Scripture doesn’t mince words about them.  “He has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.”  Love is a choice that affects this earthly life which ends, and the next life that lasts forever.

As we read in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus refines and elevates God’s expectations.  The rewards of obeying him are set out as well:  “Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Love is in the will.  It is shown by our choices throughout life.

Like Katherine and her mom, we can choose God’s will.  We can choose Him over and over again, in order to keep living more and more in love, or not.

Which will you and I choose to do?

Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart.