Our great diversity helps us understand what it means to journey together and to listen to Christ, who asks us "What are you seeking?" You show us that it is possible to live and pray together, even though we come from different countries, cultures and Church backgrounds.

There can, of course, be misunderstandings between us, but when we gather for prayer three times a day, the Holy Spirit binds us together in one Body, one human family. We can look at one another with kindness, and, like leaven raises the dough, an inner and outer peace rise within us.

During evening prayer, we have been reading through Matthew's Gospel. Last night, in chapter 22, an expert in the Law of Moses asked Jesus, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus answered clearly: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

The first commandment was known to all and was part of the prayer recited each morning. It invites us to centre ourselves in God with the whole of our being. This can never be simply an act of will; it is first a response to the love with which God loved us first.

The second – to love our neighbour as ourselves – can seem difficult, since it is not easy to love ourselves. But if we first seek God's love, does that not help us? Then we understand how God's love for us helps us love ourselves, and so love our neighbour.

To love our neighbour as ourselves can also be translated in the Hebrew as ‘Love your neighbour; your neighbour is like you.” To love our neighbour always involves a risk; it leads us out of our comfort zone. During these days, I think much of Brother Roger, who arrived in Taizé around August 20, 86 years ago.

Leaving behind the relative safety of neutral Switzerland, he came to France and discovered that loving your neighbour meant welcoming those in danger during the war for their religious or political beliefs. When peace was signed, his neighbour became German prisoners of war.

When Jesus says "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments," we understand that the whole of biblical revelation is centred on love. In this primacy given to love, love of God, of ourselves, and of our neighbour cannot be separated.

Yet to say "all you need is love" is not enough. There are rules which help us discern how to act and how to seek God, but it is love that brings out their fullest meaning, and that of all that is written in the Law and the Prophets. Jesus lived out this love in word and deed, giving his life on the cross, rising from the dead, and remaining present among us each day through the Holy Spirit.

As you return home, how can you continue to listen to these two words of Jesus? How will they guide you in your everyday life?

Teresa speaks:

My name is Teresa and I am from Naples in Southern Italy. Specifically, I grew up in Scampia where my community is and where, throughout my scout group and a social orchestra, I started to meet God in the people around me.

When I read this Gospel yesterday, the first thing that came to my mind was "why are these two commandments similar?" And, looking at my life, I thought : I can't love others without loving God but I can't think about God without serving the people around me. We are also called to love each other with all our hearts, all our soul and all our mind.

We live in a world rich of people that are waiting to be seen, and in a city where I meet lots of people that need to be educated, listened to, and love. I often ask myself, and we can always ask ourselves "Whose neighbor am I? Who am I called to love?”

Love of our neighbour can also mean praying for those who are far from us, but who need our support. Among us are young adults from Ukraine, Lebanon, Haiti, Nicaragua and other countries where war and violence cause so much suffering.

To those who come from these countries, I would like to say that we do not forget you. We long with you for a just and lasting peace. If, during the week, you met with young people from these places, then please find a way to stay in touch with them. They are your neighbours.

Tomorrow evening, please come and join us at 8pm as we pray, like every Friday, for peace in our world. This prayer is in silence – it is difficult to find the words to express what we feel – and is a sign of our solidarity with those who are suffering.