“And no one dared to ask him anymore questions.” (Mk. 12:34)

When Jesus was asked which is the first commandment? He fixes love as the most fundamental commandment, but He further teaches us that love can be expressed in love of God, love of neighbor, and love of oneself. The commandment to love must start with love of God first, love of neighbor second, and love of self, last. His answer summarizes all of sacred scripture so that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

“Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk. 10:45)

The blind Bartimaeus’ cry among the crowd was a display of great faith in Jesus. He first experienced interior healing, when he began to publicly acknowledge that Jesus has the power to heal him. It is both a prayer and a profession of faith. This prayer has evolved through the centuries into a Christian tradition of the Jesus prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” (CCC 2616)

“And you will have treasures in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mk. 10:21)

"God made them male and female…."

In the Garden of Eden, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Thus, He created Eve, so that Adam will have someone with whom He could enter into a loving communion of life. The plan of God from the beginning was for man to be in a loving relationship with Him and with one another. The communion of man and woman forms the covenant relationship called marriage. The love of spouses require by its very nature, unity and indissolubility of the bond made in a marriage covenant, which embraces their entire married life. In the Gospel, Jesus identifies the root cause of many-failed relationship, the "hardness of heart."