Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Christianity is about love, it’s true, but within limits. In fact, anyone who loves father or mother more than Jesus Christ has gone over the limit and is not worthy of the name of Christian (Cf. Matthew 10:37). Christian love is an ordered love, with God himself at the top. In the Christian view, to love someone else or something else more than God is tantamount to idolatry, to the worship of false gods.
So, if your father asks you to do something sinful, say no. Or, if your mother, by her example, encourages you to sin, do not imitate her. Rather, always do what is right and just and good, and never do what is wrong or unjust or evil, and let your parents say and do as they please. But don’t love your parents so much that you will even do something evil for them. Doing evil only ever makes things worse, regardless of your intentions.
As in your moral life, so in your spiritual life, you must learn to love God above all others, however much time it takes. There will be days on which you feel passionately about some recreational activity or some project or some person. That’s all fine and natural, but save some space in your heart for God himself. Strive to do more than simply go through the motions in Church and in your daily prayers. Bend your will and your affections towards the God who created you out of nothing and who loves you perfectly and who is, in fact, love itself. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Thanks to love, you can love other people and other things. Therefore, love love itself above all else.