The beautiful Jewish prayer, the Shema is the cornerstone of today’s Gospel from Mark. Jesus says that this prayer, which proclaims that there is only one God, and God should be loved above all things, is the crux of our faith. If I acknowledge God, and repent of my transgressions, then the prophet Hosea, speaking for God, promised that God will be like the dew for us—refreshing us so that we can blossom like the lily, be splendid like an olive tree, fragrant as the Lebanon cedar. All that is asked is that I place nothing above God—have no idols. So just what are my idols? What do I do instead of prayer, where do my thought wander off to while I’m at Mass, what am I doing that keeps me from showing compassion? If I can recognize these and other things that separate me from God, then I will be able to blossom. Today, I am going to pray the Shema. Maybe I should steal a page from my Jewish brothers and sisters and pray it daily!
