Pope says love of God and neighbor are reciprocal, inseparable

November 05, 2012 - The love of God and love of neighbour are inseparable and reciprocal, Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday. Addressing a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square in Rome prior to reciting the weekly midday ‘Angelus’ Marian prayer, the Pope reflected on Sunday’s Gospel of St. Mark where Jesus is asked about the “greatest of all commandments.” Speaking from his studio window overlooking the rain-drenched square below, the Holy Father explained that looking at the other "with the eyes of God" captures the deep desire to be loved, and " by opening myself to the other person, just as he or she is, by reaching out, by making myself available, I am also opening myself up to know God, to feel that He is there and is good ". The Pope reflected on the nature of love, which, he said, begins not as a command but a gift from God. This gift, he said, allows people to see God as he does - with unconditional love - and this in turn should encourage everyone to view one another the same way. “If the love of God strikes deep roots in a person, then he is able to love even those who do not deserve it, as does God toward us,” Pope Benedict said. He likened God’s love to the unconditional love parents show their children, however undeserved. Even if love is undeserved and rejected, it does not go unrewarded, the Pope explained. Love builds upon love and brings one ever closer to the source of love, God. Opening one’s heart toward others also means opening oneself to knowing God, “to feel that he is there and is good.” Pope Benedict said that having loving eyes allows one to see God ever clearer so that one wants only what is good, never bad. Holding out the Eucharist as the highest embodiment of the love God and neighbor, the Pope said, in this sacrament Jesus “gifts us this twofold love, gifting himself, because, nourished by this bread, we love one another as he has loved us.”