Weekly Newsletter 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 25th, 2026

The Heartbeat of the Law

Have you ever tried to organise a cluttered junk drawer? You pull everything out, sort through old receipts, rubber bands,

and broken pens and suddenly realise that 90% of what’s in there is just taking up space.

In this today’s Gospel the religious scholars approach Jesus with a version of that very task. They lived in a religious culture weighed down by 613 distinct laws and regulations. To them, the “junk drawer” of tradition was overflowing, and they wanted to know: Which rule matters most?

What goes to the very back, and what stays front and centre?

Jesus doesn’t hesitate. He doesn’t pick a favourite rule out of the hundreds on the books. Instead, He reaches down, sweeps away the clutter, and reveals the foundational framework of everything:

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…

The second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

Notice how Jesus couples these two. In the book of Exodus, God gives teeth to this command, specifically warning the Israelites not to wrong or oppress the stranger, the widow, or the orphan. Why? Because God listens when they cry out.

To love God isn’t just about private, interior devotion—it has a heartbeat, and that heartbeat is found in how we treat the vulnerable. As St. Paul praises the Thessalonians this week, their faith wasn’t just talked about; it was active, turning away from idols to serve the living God in tangible ways.

This week let’s simplify our spiritual lives. When decisions get complicated and noise surrounds us,

let’s return to the ultimate filter: Does this draw me closer to God? Does this show love to my neighbour?

Everything else is just details.