Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, Easter Monday morning, ending an extraordinary papacy that began on a cold evening almost 12 years earlier.
Our Highest Priority
Why Did Jesus Tell Us to Love Him First?
By: Joe Difato
Jesus loved people. Rich or poor, righteous or sinners, believers or detractors—he loved them all. And that’s exactly what he wants us to do as well. At the Last Supper, he told his disciples, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Jesus wants us to do everything we can to build loving relationships and to treat everyone we meet with the same love he has for us. But Jesus also drew a distinct line in the sand. As important as it is to love one another, he warned us against placing our earthly loves above our love for him:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me....
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