The Hierarchy of Love

Pope Francis has spoken often about the concept of a “hierarchy of truths” first defined in a decree from the Second Vatican Council. In his recent exhortation on St Therese of Lisieux, who he deemed an authority on the hierarchy of truths, Pope Francis writes, “Not everything is equally central, because there is an order or hierarchy among the truths of the Church, and this holds true as much for the dogmas of faith as for the whole corpus of the Church’s teaching, including her moral teaching.”

There are foundational beliefs, core principles that must be accepted first, or else the rest is baseless, just an act. This is what our Gospel scene conveys this weekend. Jesus is clear. Before worrying about anything else, one must love God and love others. It comes down to our motive, our intention. The Pharisees’ intention was to trick Jesus, to expose him as a fraud, probably out of jealousy and fear. Jesus speaks of loving God with our hearts, souls, and minds, our very essence.

It’s so easy to go through life with our actions and words not matching what we profess to believe. And it can seem overwhelming to try to keep track of all the do’s and don’ts (just imagine trying to abide by the 613 Jewish laws!). So Jesus comes to our rescue… live our lives through the framework of loving God and loving others, and we will find our way.