In the Oct. 25 bulletin of St.Joseph Catholic Church in Onekama, MI  and St. Raphael Catholic Church in Copemish, MI, Father Rubén Darío Muñoz urges parishioners to always keep in mind the importance of love in the Christian faith.

“We know that love is the very definition of the Christian faith,” he wrote. “When our life is mission-oriented to love, we follow the command of Jesus, and Saint Paul showed us that the early Church lived this command.”

He quotes the Apostle Paul, "Brothers and sisters: You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of the Lord and of us..."

Jiménez calls on parishioners to consider the importance of love in all aspects of their daily lives and to be mindful of love when encountering those who are different from themselves.

He quotes from Exodus, "Thus says the LORD: 'You shall not molest or  oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of  Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them,  and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will  flare up, and I will kill you with the sword...' The Jews knew these  commandments from God and tried to live by them."

The priest said the scripture is relevant to the present day.

 “Now, we need to question ourselves, ‘Do I really believe in God and love God?’” he wrote. “What are my actions to show that I love God and my neighbor? This week is a perfect opportunity to ponder about this commandment and the most important act on it.”

We must first love ourselves if we are to love others, the priest wrote.

"We need to ask God to help us love ourselves to love others. Lord, help me to love myself as much as you love me!," he wrote.