Keeping our eyes on God helps us to imitate Him. Hearing the greatest commandment from the lips of our Lord in the Gospel today, we hear a clear order in which the commandment of love is given: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; love your neighbor as yourself. Often when we struggle with the second part, it is due to neglect of the first part. And when we see those who have heroically lived out the command to love neighbor, it is often because of their great dedication to fulfilling the command to love God.
Saint Louis IX, was known in his day for tremendous love for the poor. Many rulers would neglect the cries of the poor who were treated unjustly (many still do). Louis, though entrusted with responsibility for affairs of many lands and peoples throughout France, would often take time personally to hear the cases of the destitute who complained of concrete injustices they had suffered. He gave regularly and generously and personally to giving food to the hungry, care to the sick, and support to those abandoned by others. It is said that each evening he would welcome the homeless into his home for dinner, and would ask to wash their feet before they left.
This great love for his neighbor found its root and support in his zealous love for God. Whether in his personal prayer, the reverence he ensured was given to Christ who suffered, or in attempting to ensure respect for the dignity of Christians seeking to honor Christ in the Holy Land (even though it meant tremendous expense, great danger to himself, foreign imprisonment, and lasting humiliation). Let us as for the grace to look to the God who loves us (as Saint Louis did), so that we may hope to dedicate ourselves more to serving God and our neighbor.