Introduction:

"The first commandment embraces faith, hope, and charity. When we say 'God' we
confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without
any evil. It follows that we must necessarily accept his words and have complete faith in
him and acknowledge his authority. He is almighty, merciful, and infinitely beneficent.
Who could not place all hope in him? Who could not love him when contemplating the
treasures of goodness and love he has poured out on us? Hence the formula God
employs in the Scripture at the beginning and end of his commandments: 'I am the
LORD.”
- CCC 2086
Objectives:
The learner will be able to:
1. Identify the essence of the greatest commandments of Jesus that He enjoins to
His disciples to observe and practice.
2. Describe the mandate of Jesus to love the Lord, our God with all our heart, soul
and mind, and love their neighbor as they love themselves.

Opening Prayer: In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen! +

The Heart of Eternal Love

By: Joyce Rupp

Heart of Love,
Source of all kindness, Teacher of the ways of goodness
You are hidden in the pockets of daily life, waiting to be discovered.

Heart of Gladness,
Joy that sings in our souls, the Dancer and the Dance,
You are Music radiating in our cherished caches of consolation.

Heart of Compassion,
The Healing One weeping for the world
burden and bent,
You are the heart we bring to the
wounded, worn and weary.
Heart of Comfort,
Sheltering Wing of Love, Refuge of sad and
lonely ones, You embrace all who bear
loss, gathering their tears with care.
Heart of all Hearts,
The First and Best of all Companions, You
are the Gift secreted in our depths,
connecting us with others.
Heart of Understanding,
One who gazes upon the imperfect, the
incomplete, the flawed, the weak, you
never stop extending mercy.
(Glory Be…)
 LEARNING ACTIVITIES
VOCABULARY
 Contentious – like to cause disagreement or argument, exhibiting an often perverse
and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes.
 Commandment – the act or power of commanding; something that is commanded.
 Indifference – absence of compulsion to or toward one thing or another

1. Summarize the things you have learned and understood from the
previous unit.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Amidst what is happening in our world today, we can ask

ourselves: have we truly loved? What have we done to live out
the command of Jesus to love our neighbor? Why are there still
a lot of people who are rejected, abandoned, abused, and
unloved? Why are there a lot of people who die of loneliness?
Why do young people commit suicide? Our questions could be
endless. Thus, it is good to ask ourselves how we are going to
respond to this hunger of love.
Let us read and be inspired by the life story of St. Teresa of
Calcutta.

Link 1: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-
teresa_en.html?fbclid=IwAR2eybgoVow_JlWetrHuoaGkogWxDdLRk8glhxN6x7cSaIjzyLfgHra3Cuw#top
Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am

a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I
belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. ”Small of stature, rocklike in faith,
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of
proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the
poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and
me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul
filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with
one desire: “to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 2
 This luminous messenger of God’s love was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, a city
situated at the crossroads of Balkan history. The youngest of the children born to Nikola and
Drane Bojaxhiu, she was baptised Gonxha Agnes, received her First Communion at the age
of five and a half and was confirmed in November 1916. From the day of her First Holy
Communion, a love for souls was within her. Her father’s sudden death when Gonxha was
about eight years old left in the family in financial straits. Drane raised her children firmly and
lovingly, greatly influencing her daughter’s character and vocation. Gonxha’s religious
formation was further assisted by the vibrant Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart in which she
was much involved.
At the age of eighteen, moved by a desire to become a missionary, Gonxha left her
home in September 1928 to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Sisters of
Loreto, in Ireland. There she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
In December, she departed for India, arriving in Calcutta on 6 January 1929. After making
her First Profession of Vows in May 1931, Sister Teresa was assigned to the Loreto Entally
community in Calcutta and taught at St. Mary’s School for girls. On 24 May 1937, Sister Teresa
made her Final Profession of Vows, becoming, as she said, the “spouse of Jesus” for “all
eternity.” From that time on she was called Mother Teresa. She continued teaching at St.
Mary’s and in 1944 became the school’s principal. A person of profound prayer and deep
love for her religious sisters and her students, Mother Teresa’s twenty years in Loreto were
filled with profound happiness. Noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her
capacity for hard work and a natural talent for organization, she lived out her consecration
to Jesus, in the midst of her companions, with fidelity and joy.
On 10 September 1946 during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual
retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a
way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the
desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. Over the course of the next
weeks and months, by means of interior locutions and visions, Jesus revealed to her the
desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.” “Come be My
light,” He begged her. “I cannot go alone.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor,
His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. He asked Mother Teresa to
establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the service of the
poorest of the poor. Nearly two years of testing and discernment passed before Mother
Teresa received permission to begin. On August 17, 1948, she dressed for the first time in a
white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to
enter the world of the poor.

The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and

labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the
greatness and dignity of every human person, the
value of little things done faithfully and with love,
and the surpassing worth of friendship with God.

During the last years of her life, despite

increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa
continued to govern her Society and respond to
the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997,
Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000
members and were established in 610 foundations
in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she
blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior
General of the Missionaries of Charity and then
made one more trip abroad.

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 3
 Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of
holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause
of Canonization. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and
miracles.
After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent
her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s
earthly life came to an end. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government
of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her
tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and
poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and
extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a
Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a
living witness to the thirsting love of God.

Try to answer thetwo

Less than following:
years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation
of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her
1. How of
Cause did the life of St. Teresa
Canonization. of Calcutta2002
On 20 December moveheyou?
approved the decrees of her heroic virtues
___________________________________________________________________________________________
and miracles.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What inspiration can you get from her life as a Missionary of Charity?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

3. If you are to describe her with one word, what will it be? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

4. We are called to love one another. How do you think this command is related to the rest of
the Ten Commandments?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sacred Scripture

The Gospel of St. Matthew 22:34-40 reminds us of the great

commandments of love that Jesus enjoins His disciples to observe and
practice.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the

Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a
scholar of the law] tested Him by asking, “Teacher, which
commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and
the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love
your neighbor as you love yourself. The whole law of the
prophets depend on these two commandments.”
- Matthew 22:34-40

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 4
 CHURCH TEACHINGS

The Great Commandments

But perhaps the best Scriptural concretization of loving God with all one’s
heart, soul and strength is not in Christ’s teaching, but in His very life. In His triple
temptation in the desert, Christ first refused to satisfy His own basic needs in view of
an undivided heart for God’s word. Second, in refusing divine intervention, He risked
His life (soul) for God. Finally, ignoring all enticements of the devil, Jesus committed
all His strength to God alone (cf. Matthew 4:1-11).

Christ gave a radically new interpretation to

“neighbor”. It is now to be understood universally, to
cover everyone: those in need as taught by the parable
of the Good Samaritan (cf. Luke 10:30-37), and even our
enemies (cf. Matthew 5:44). Christ went further and
made everyone “neighbor” by identifying Himself with
them as Vatican II has pointed out, “Christ wished to
identify Himself with His brethren as the object of this love
when He said: “As often as you did it for one of my least
brothers, you did it for me” (cf. Matthew 25:40; cf. AA8).
- CFC 815, 817

Broadening of Topic
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” -Matthew 22:36

This question was posed by one of the scholars of the law in an attempt to test Jesus. It’s
clear, from the context of this passage that the relationship between Jesus and the religious
leaders of His time was beginning to become contentious. They were beginning to test Him and
were even trying to trap Him. However, Jesus continued to silence them with His words of
wisdom.
In response to the question above, Jesus silences this scholar of the law by giving the
perfect answer. He says, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
With this statement, Jesus gives a complete summary of the moral law found in the Ten
Commandments. The first three Commandments reveal that we must love God above all and
with all our might. The last six Commandments reveal that we must love our neighbor. The
moral law of God is as simple as fulfilling these two more general commandments.
Link 2: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2020/10/24/the-greatest-commandment-2/
The Greatest Commandment

But is it all that simple?

To love God and neighbor with
all our heart, mind and soul?
How?

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 5
 Well, the answer is both “Yes” and “No.” It’s simple in the sense that God’s will is not
typically complex and difficult to comprehend. Love is spelled out clearly in the Gospels and
we are called to embrace a radical life of true love and charity.
However, it can be considered difficult in that we are not only called to love, we are
called to love with all our being. We must give of ourselves completely and without
reserve. This is radical and requires that we hold nothing back.
Love is the fountain of our Christian Faith. It is the fire that keeps
our mission burning. Each time we miss our Sunday Mass and forget to
pray, do we ask, do we really love God with all our mind, with all our soul,
and with all our strength? When we close our eyes to those in need,
those who are least among us, those who are rejected because of our
biases and discrimination; those who are lonely because we close our
heart to forgiveness, those who end their lives because we do not bother
to care, and those who are lost because we do not lead them to the right
path, do we not ask ourselves if we loved them the way we love God
and ourselves?
Loving others is our concretization of our love for God. At the end of
our lives, can we truly claim that we have indeed loved? Will Jesus say to
us, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill
and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36). If
only we can look at each other as brothers and sisters, no one will suffer
alienation. It is only love that can heal our deepest hurts and longings. It is
only love that can bring us joy.
St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Never turn your back to the poor, for turning your
back to the poor, you are turning it to Jesus.”
Today, we hear and read of the millions of unborn babies killed through abortion. It
causes worldwide anguish. Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without
tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you”. We
have seen all kinds of murder happening in our society.

Let us break the culture of violence and indifference

and develop the culture of live and love. It is the heart of the
Commandments and the Beatitudes. If we are to be Jesus’
disciples, let us be missionaries of LOVE.
Let the man truly possessed by the love of Christ keep
His commandments. Who can express the binding power of
divine love?
Who can find words for the splendor of its beauty? Beyond all descriptions are the
heights to which it lifts us. Love unites us to God; it cancels innumerable sins, it has no limits
to its endurance, bears everything patiently. Love is neither servile nor arrogant. It does not
provoke schisms or form cliques, but always acts in harmony with others. By it all God’s
chosen ones have been sanctified; without it, it is impossible to please Him. Out of love the
Lord took us to Himself; because He loved us and it was God’s will, our Lord Jesus Christ
gave His life’s blood for us- He gave his body for our body, His soul for our soul.
See, then beloved, what a great and wonderful thing love is, and how inexpressible
its perfection. Who are worthy to possess it unless God makes them so? Happy are we,
beloved, if love enables us to live in harmony and in the observance of God’s
commandments, for then it will also gain for us the remission of our sins. Scripture
pronounces happy those whose transgressions are pardoned, whose sins are forgiven.
Happy the man, it says, to whom the Lord imputes no fault, on whose lips there is no guile.
This is the blessing given those whom god has chosen through Jesus Christ our Lord. To Him
be glory for ever and ever. Amen!
- St. Clement I: Letter to the Corinthians
Who Can Express the Binding Power of Divine Love?

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 6
 WORKSHEET # 12

Lesson 12: The Command to Love

Name
Grade & Section Date
Teacher

TASK 1

A. Unscramble the letters to make a sense of what is described in the sentence. Write your
answer on the spaces provided.

_______________ 1. Loving others is our CCNOZATNIOITRE of our love for God.

_______________ 2. If only we can look at each other as brothers and sisters, no one will
suffer NIOILATENA.
_______________ 3. Christ went further and made everyone “IGBHRONE” by identifying
Himself with them.
_______________ 4-5. Love is the foundation of our RCHIANTSI THFAI.
_______________ 6-7. Let us break the culture of NCEELOIV and FFEEERNCIIDN.
______________
_______________ 8. Love is spelled out clearly in the Gospels and we are called to embrace
a LACADIR life of true love and charity.
_______________ 9-10. Love unites us to God; it cancels NNMUIEEBLAR sins, it has no limits to
_______________ its UEEANNCDR, bears everything patiently.

B. Answer the following with clarity and honesty.

1. What do you observe are the realities in our world today that manifest lack of love?
What can you do to heal these in your own little way/s?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the essence of Jesus’ commandment to love?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 7
TASK 2

A. Draw a symbol of your reflection on the greatest Commandment of Love.

B. Fill the circle with a collage of words on how you can concretely show your love for God and
love for your neighbor with names of the people you would like to share God’s love with.

1-better luck next

Criteria 4-Very Good 3-Good 2-Fair
time
Score
Relevance All ideas are Most of the ideas Some of the ideas Few of the ideas are
related to the are related to the are related to the related to the topic
topic topic topic
Coherence Ideas are well Most of the ideas Some of the ideas Ideas are not well
points organized are well are well organized
organized organized
Correct grammar Committed 1-5 Committed 6-10 Committed 9-15 Committed 14-20
errors errors errors errors
Neatness of Work Work is very neat Readable but Readable but has Not readable and
– for MDL and readable contains some many erasures has many erasures
erasures
Time of submission
For OLD – Submitted one Submitted two Submitted 3 days
Submitted on time
day late days late late

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 8
 TASK 3

A. Read the following biblical verses. Then, accomplish the assigned reflection activities
for each. (Same Rubrics from Tsk 2)

1. Isaiah 49:15-16/Psalm 23/Psalm 139

How have you experienced God’s love in your life? Inside the box, write down the
initials of people who touched your life, supported you in all times of trouble,
strengthened you when you were weak, gave kind words when you most needed it,
stayed by your side in your time of grief, made you smile when you were sad and
extended help when you were in need. Write also simple prayer for them.

2. Isaiah 43:1-28

What are the raging waters and fires of your life? Think back or recall an experience of a
big problem, a near-death experience, or any danger where you were spared or have safely
crossed over. How did you experience God’s presence in those events? WRITE INSIDE THE BOX THE
INITIALS OF THOSE WHO HELPED YOU IN THESE EVENTS and A SIMPLE WORD OF GRATITUDE FOR
THEM.

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 9
 POINTS FOR REFLECTION

RVM Integration Questions Answer

1. What value do we practice when

we believe to the people we truly
love hoping that they will be able
to do great things modeled by our
Lord Jesus Christ?
2. Being aware of the violence and
exploitation that are rampant in
our country these days since last
year 2020, in your own way, how
can you contribute to lessen the
violence in your own homes and
places?
3. In your Araling Panlipunan class,
cite an issue where you think there
is lack of charity and suggest a
solution that you think will resolve
the issue.

SUMMARY
After reading, knowing and reflecting on the greatest commandments of Jesus to love
God and neighbor, I have learned and realized that…
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

SELF-EVALUATION
Things that I learned new from the topic
Questions that still bothers me about the
discussed:
topic discussed:
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 10
 To make our Module become learner-friendly, please help us
answer the following questions.

1. In what aspect of this module is helpful to your learning?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which part of this module are least helpful to your learning?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Other comments/suggestions
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is

God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and
knows God.”
- 1 John 4:7

 Catechism for Filipino Catholics CFC

 Live Your Life Everyday LYFE
 Christian Prayer: Liturgy of he Hours
 LIST OF LINKS:
Link 1: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-
teresa_en.html?fbclid=IwAR2eybgoVow_JlWetrHuoaGkogWxDdLRk8glhxN6x7cSaIjzyLfgHra
3Cuw#top
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Link 2: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2020/10/24/the-greatest-
commandment-2/
The Greatest Commandment

St. Rita’s College of Balingasag Christian Living 10 │ Student Study Guide #12 11