When Jesus was asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mt 22:37-39). This is not merely a rule but a divine call to holiness, a roadmap for aligning our entire being—heart, soul, mind, and strength—with God’s will. Loving God fully, while also loving our neighbor and ourselves, forms the foundation of our spiritual journey. This reflection explores this commandment, showing how an undivided heart is the cornerstone, enabling us to love God with our soul, mind, and strength in a logical, interconnected progression, each building upon the other.

Loving God with All Your Heart: The Foundation

Loving God with all your heart is the starting point of the spiritual life. The heart represents our deepest desires, affections, and choices. An undivided heart is wholly devoted to God, free from the pull of worldly distractions. As Scripture warns, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Mt 6:24). A divided heart, torn between God and fleeting pleasures, struggles to focus on the spiritual life. As Augustine of Hippo wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (Confessions, Book 1).

This love is a deliberate choice. Do we begin our day with prayer, aligning our heart with God’s will? Do our decisions reflect His priorities? The Catechism teaches, “The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced” (CCC 1432). By gazing upon Jesus, especially in the Eucharist or Scripture, our heart finds its true home. Only an undivided heart can make choices that keep the soul’s eternal destiny in view, setting the stage for the next step in our journey. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mt 5:8).

Loving God with All Your Soul: An Eternal Perspective

Once our heart is anchored in God, we can love Him with all our soul, living with an eternal perspective. The soul is our spiritual core, destined for eternity. Loving God with our soul means orienting our thoughts, words, and actions toward heaven, prioritizing what endures over what fades. As Scripture urges, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:2). A heart divided by worldly desires makes it difficult to keep the soul’s destiny in focus, leading to choices that neglect eternity.

Teresa of Avila, reminds us, “The soul is capable of much more than we can imagine” (Interior Castle). When we live with our soul in view, we see others as God’s beloved, created for eternity. “Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (1 Jn 4:20). Loving God with our soul binds us to our neighbor, as charity is the soul of holiness (CCC 826). Every act of kindness or forgiveness becomes a step toward eternal life, but this perspective depends on a heart fully given to God.

Loving God with All Your Mind: Focused Devotion

Loving God with all your mind builds upon loving Him with your soul. If our soul is not oriented toward eternity, our mind becomes distracted by things that harm our spiritual life—sinful habits, fleeting pleasures, or worldly anxieties. A distracted mind cannot love God fully. As Scripture counsels, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God” (Rom 12:2).

Loving God with your mind does not mean constant prayer running through your thoughts. Instead, it means giving your full attention to the responsibilities God has entrusted to you. If you’re a student, attend class with focus, taking notes diligently. If you’re a worker, approach your tasks with integrity. As Thomas Aquinas noted, “To love God is something greater than to know Him, but to know Him is necessary to love Him well” (Summa Theologiae). Engaging our intellect—through studying Scripture, exploring Church teachings, or seeking deeper understanding—opens our minds to God’s grace. A mind rooted in an eternal perspective, enabled by a pure heart, becomes a vessel for divine wisdom.

Loving God with All Your Strength: Giving Your All

Loving God with all your strength is the culmination of this journey, possible only when heart, soul, and mind are aligned. Strength refers to the effort we pour into every task, offering our best to God. While loving God with heart, soul, and mind can be present without fully loving Him with strength, the reverse is not true. Giving our all requires the foundation of an undivided heart, an eternal perspective, and a focused mind. As Scripture exhorts, “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters” (Col 3:23).

Loving God with all your strength means exceeding the minimum required. Others may be satisfied with 50 or 60 percent effort, but God calls for our best. The parable of the talents illustrates this: the servant who buries his talent fails to use what God entrusted to him (Mt 25:14-30). Whether studying, working, or serving in ministry, half-heartedness falls short. As John Paul II urged, “Do not be afraid to be saints. Follow Jesus Christ who is the source of freedom and light.” When we give our all, our work becomes a prayer, an offering to God. “Whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).

The Hidden Commandment: Loving Neighbour and Self

Jesus pairs loving God with loving our neighbor as ourselves, revealing a hidden third commandment: loving yourself. This is not selfishness but recognizing your worth as God’s creation. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14). God has a purpose for you: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jer 29:11). Rejecting thoughts of worthlessness allows you to accept God’s love, which overflows into love for others. “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19).

Loving your neighbor flows from this. Jesus teaches, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). Mother Teresa embodied this, saying, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him.” Loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength enables us to see Christ in others, transforming every act of service into an encounter with Him.

A Logical Progression and a Call to Holiness

The greatest commandment unfolds in a logical order. An undivided heart, fully devoted to God, enables us to make choices that keep our soul’s eternal destiny in view. This eternal perspective allows us to love God with our mind, focusing fully on our responsibilities without distraction. Only then can we love God with all our strength, giving our best in every task. Each stage builds on the previous one, but the lower stages can exist without the higher ones. For example, one might love God with heart, soul, and mind but fail to give full strength, settling for less than their best. However, loving with all strength requires the foundation of heart, soul, and mind.

This commandment is a divine mandate, urgent and beautiful. As Ignatius of Loyola prayed, “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will” (Suscipe). Let us answer this call: love God with an undivided heart, an eternal perspective, a focused mind, and your fullest effort. Love your neighbor as God’s image and yourself as His beloved creation. This is the path to holiness, leading to joy and eternal union with God. “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually” (Ps 105:4).