There is no other commandment greater than these

Book of Hosea 14:2-10. 
Thus says the LORD: Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. 
Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls. 
Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion." 
I will heal their defection, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. 
I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, 
and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. 
Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. "I am like a verdant cypress tree"-- Because of me you bear fruit! 
Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them. 



Psalms 81(80):6c-8a.8bc-9.10-11ab.14.17. 
An unfamiliar speech I hear: 
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden; 
his hands were freed from the basket. 
In distress you called, and I rescued you.” 

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder; 
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. 
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you; 
O Israel, will you not hear me?” 

“There shall be no strange god among you 
nor shall you worship any alien god. 
I, the LORD, am your God 
who led you forth from the land of Egypt." 

"If only my people would hear me, 
and Israel walk in my ways, 
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat, 
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.” 




Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12:28b-34. 
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 
You shall 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 shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' 
And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 
And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

"There is no other commandment greater than these"

      One of the salient features of the modern world is the growing interdependence of men one on the other, a development promoted chiefly by modern technical advances. Nevertheless brotherly dialogue among men does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress, but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships. These demand a mutual respect for the full spiritual dignity of the person. Christian revelation contributes greatly to the promotion of this communion between persons, and at the same time leads us to a deeper understanding of the laws of social life which the Creator has written into man's moral and spiritual nature.

     God, Who has fatherly concern for everyone, has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood. For having been created in the image of God, Who "from one man has created the whole human race and made them live all over the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26), all men are called to one and the same goal, namely God Himself. For this reason, love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment. Sacred Scripture, however, teaches us that the love of God cannot be separated from love of neighbor: "If there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.... Love therefore is the fulfillment of the Law" (Rom. 13:9-10; cf. 1 John 4:20). To men growing daily more dependent on one another, and to a world becoming more unified every day, this truth proves to be of paramount importance.

     Indeed, the Lord Jesus, when He prayed to the Father, "that all may be one. . . as we are one" (John 17:21-22) opened up vistas closed to human reason, for He implied a certain likeness between the union of the divine Persons, and the unity of God's sons in truth and charity. This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.