Daily reflection _ you got faith?

YOU GOT FAITH?
We cannot "do good" to God, but we can desire to please God. We can and must do good to our neighbor.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
I just recently read the poem by Joyce Kilmer "Trees," which concludes with the words, "Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree." Joyce became a Catholic at the age of 27. He was a sensitive, straightforward, and simple writer who took common things, like trees, and brought out their beauty. He was killed in World War I.
Kilmer's deeply religious spirit found fulfillment in the Catholic Faith. He loved and lived it. His letters to his wife, who was also a poet, to his children and friends, were filled with spiritual insights. In one letter he wrote something closely related to today's Gospel: "Pray that I may love God more. It seems to me that if we can love God more passionately, more constantly, without distraction that nothing else can matter... You heard that saying on a TV 'You got milk?' Well you can say, 'You got faith?'"
How many of us have ever asked God to help us love Him? To love God is a gift; a gift from God Himself. Too many falsely think we can grow in the love of God by our own efforts, that it is entirely up to us to learn how to love Him. To be sure, we need to do everything humanly possible to carry out the command of Christ, "Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God." But above and beyond our efforts this gift will be ours when we truly want it from our heavenly Father.
What do we mean when we say, "Love God?" Here is a working definition that has helped me: To love God means to desire to please Him. Christ's command might read, "Thou shalt desire to please God." Love of neighbor means the desire to do good to our neighbor. We cannot "do good" to God, but we can desire to please God. We can and must do good to our neighbor.
Jesus told us several times in several ways that he who loves God will keep God's commandments. God's commandments are a proof of God's love for us. The Collect for today's Mass can be helpful: "Almighty ever-living God, increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what You command, so that we may merit what You promise."
Do You Got Faith?