The will of God for everyone of us is first and foremost to love Him above all else and then to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is the whole idea of the commandments; and the season of Lent draws us closer to this love of God when we experience His great mercy and forgiveness and gives us ample opportunities to share this love in our community by loving our neighbors, by identifying those persons who actually need our assistance and minister to their needs. The first reading tells us to return God and ask for forgiveness in order to experience His love. The gospel reading urges us to love God and our neighbors. The love of God and neighbor is what we need to enter the kingdom of heaven. Prayer: Lord Jesus inflame our hearts with the fire of your love so that we may love God above all else and our neighbors as ourselves.