If you ask any catechist (or any catechized child) what were the commandments of Jesus they would, no doubt, answer: love God and love your neighbor. While that is a good answer it is not exactly how Jesus answered the question about the most important commandment. Quoting from the Bible in the traditional Jewish prayer Jesus responded to the question: Listen. That was the imperative, the command word. Listen. That tells us that the command to love God and neighbor is, in fact, a response. When we listen we hear of God’s love for us, we hear that we are precious in God’s sight. It is only because we have heard these things that we are able to respond by loving God and neighbor.
