Today is the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When I was little I was fascinated by a picture on my grandmother's living room wall of just two hearts, that of Jesus and Mary. They were shaped like real hearts, not like the one in the picture above. One had a crown of thorns around it and the smaller, I think had a sword through it. My family told me that was to show me how much Jesus and Mary loved me.
The second reading for today's Mass is 1 John 4: 7-16, a passage I refer to frequently. The author says that if we are loving people that's a clear sign that we are children of God because "God is love." God's very nature is love. If we love one another it shows that God lives in us. "Those who remain in love remain in God, and God remains in them." These verses have become a touchstone for the centrality of Christian love for all persons.
So it isn't that God tells us that we have to love all those who are different from us. It's simply that love flows from God through us to everyone, no matter what their color or race or nationality.
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