Which is the first of all the commandments?

4 NOVEMBER (Mk 12,28b-34)

The Old Law, as it is handed down from Deuteronomy, had placed love for the Lord as the essence, foundation, beginning and end of every relationship with God and with men. From this commandment flow all the others.
“These then are the commandments, the statutes and decrees which the Lord, your God, has ordered that you be taught to observe in the land into which you are crossing for conquest, so that you and your son and your grandson may fear the Lord, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the Lord, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
You shall not follow other gods, such as those of the surrounding nations, lest the wrath of the Lord, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from the face of the land; for the Lord, your God, who is in your midst, is a jealous God. “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah. But keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the ordinances and statutes he has enjoined on you. Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that you may, according to his word, prosper, and may enter in and possess the good land which the Lord promised on oath to your fathers, thrusting all your enemies out of your way. “Later on, when your son asks you what these ordinances, statutes and decrees mean which the Lord, our God, has enjoined on you, you shall say to your son, ‘We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders, great and dire, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his whole house. He brought us from there to lead us into the land he promised on oath to our fathers, and to give it to us. Therefore, the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes in fear of the Lord, our God, that we may always have as prosperous and happy a life as we have today; and our justice before the Lord, our God, is to consist in carefully observing all these commandments he has enjoined on us.’ (Cfr. Dt 6,1-25).
The source of the truth of man’s love is in this first commandment. If this is neglected, all other commandments, even to the ones toward the neighbour, lose their value. Loving God with all the heart means loving the Word of God with all the heart, loving the Law with all the heart, loving his Precepts with all the heart. A precept to be loved with all the heart is also the one toward our neighbour.

One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The two commandments are not the same, but similar, because the people to be loved are two: God and man. God must be loved as Lord, Creator, Redeemer, Saviour and Benefactor of man. The neighbour must be loved as a true brother, a true creature of God, his true servant, like every other man is a true servant of God. The neighbour must be loved with all the heart because God commands us to love his will with all the heart.
Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints teach true love.