“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.” // Matthew 22:37-38
The morning sun sliced through the shutters as I glanced down at my phone. My “alarm clock” was crying in the next room for his morning milk while I took a quick inventory of what my phone was demanding of me. My fingers shuffled along the keyboard on my screen, answering only the most important requests, while the “alarm” only grew in volume.
I thought about the day ahead—the dishes that lingered in the sink from last night’s dinner, the groceries that needed to be purchased, the appointments that needed to be made. I thought about the playdates and the lesson plans and the looming deadlines.
And while my hands busied themselves in the frantic rush to go and to do and to be, I began to feel the weight of the responsibilities rise within my chest. And there it stayed, a tight knot of urgency pounding up against me all day until the sweet victory of sleep came again at night to relieve my tired soul.
I don’t know how I got here, honestly. How the ever-elusive pull of all the responsibilities became my top priority. And I wonder, dear sister, if you struggle with this, too—if the dishes take precedent over prayer or the appointments win out over your Bible.
Today’s Gospel is a beautiful invitation to reorient our lives, as Christ reminds us:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
A life spent loving Christ requires our attention. It requires us to be intentional, to keep Him as our first priority. There is a grace that flows from a life lived in proper order, and He is inviting us into it.
Sister, may we accept His call to put Him first. Make prayer a part of your plan for today and every day.
Brittany Calavitta is an enthusiastic advocate for a good book, strong coffee, and a hopeful heart. After battling years of infertility, she and her husband welcomed their first child on September 11, 2016. While balancing time between life with a preschooler and a husband who travels for ministry, Brittany dances professionally all over Southern California where her family currently resides. She was a contributing author to Here Too: Where We Find God and Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women. Find out more about her here.
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