Food for thought from St. Augustine: “I know, beloved, how well-fed you are every day by the exhortations of Holy Scripture, and what nourishment your hearts find in the word of God. Nevertheless, the affection we have for one another compels me to say something to you about love. What else is there to speak of apart from love?
To speak about love there is no need to select some special passage of Scripture to serve as a text for preaching; open the Bible at any page and you will find it extolling love. We know this is so from the Lord himself, as the Gospels remind us, for when asked what were the most important commandments of the law He answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And then, just in case you might be tempted to search further through the pages of Holy Scripture for some commandments other than these two, He added: “The entire law and the prophets also depend upon these two commandments.” If the entire law and the prophets depend upon these two commandments, how much more must the Gospels do so?”
From Pope Francis: “What is the law of the People of God? It is the law of love, love for God and love for neighbor according to the new commandment that the Lord left to us (cf. John 13,34 and Matthew 22,34-40). It is a love, however, that is not sterile sentimentality or something vague, but the acknowledgment of God as the one Lord of life and, at the same time, the acceptance of the other as my true brother or sister, overcoming division, rivalry, misunderstanding, and selfishness. We must humbly ask the Lord to make us correctly understand this law of love. How beautiful it is to love one another as true brothers and sisters. How beautiful!”
