The New Commandment of Love

After the Last Supper, Jesus told his Apostles a new Commandment. In this Commandment, Jesus told the Apostles, "Love one another, as I have loved you." As children of God, we are all called to love one another as Jesus loves us and as we love ourselves. We should always respect our neighbors and treat them the way we would like to be treated. We have to realize that we are all equal in dignity as God's sons and daughters, and we should never view someone as being lower than us. We should not respect someone less than another person because of his/her status or appearance. Although created unique, we are all humans and deserve to be treated with equal respect. Now, that is not to say that we have the same roles or responsibilities in life. We do have different roles and responsibilities in fulling God's will, which is the way God wants it to be. But, we are all created equal in dignity and created in the image and likeness of God. Some ways of treating our neighbors with respect is by helping others out when they are in need and fulfilling our virtue of charity, whether that is by emotionally supporting them by giving them beneficial advice or donating money and food to charities.

In the video of Ronald Davis explaining the struggles he faces while living a life without a proper home, he states that there are many people that disrespect him and call him a bum as they tell him to get a job. But, instead of insulting our neighbors and laughing at them, we should help them out and give of ourselves, whether that is time, advice, and so on. We should not always worry about what we can receive and get out of certain things; rather, we should give and sacrifice things just like Jesus did during his time on earth. At the same time, we should be very thankful for the things that God has blessed us with. We should be very grateful and appreciate everything that God continues to do for us. Life is a miracle itself. God will supply for those who give. Also, we have to be careful to not take things for granted. We have to watch the amount of things that we use, for we are called to be caretakers and shepherds of earth. For example, we can take only what we are going to eat at a buffet or close the faucet to stop the water from running when we brush our teeth. Some of our less fortunate neighbors in other parts of the world would really appreciate all the things that we take for granted, which is why we could donate to charities that help provide food and necessities in those other countries. By living out the New Commandment of Love and fulfilling our task of being caretakers of the world, we can better grow in holiness and fulfill God's will.