Bringing an end to injustices

From Safari…..

I find the scripture readings this weekend challenging ---- share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them; remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, malicious speech; you are the salt of the earth, you

are the light of the world, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

We would rather hear about God’s love for us, his presence in our lives. And yes, in the scriptures we are also remind of God’s unconditional love and support of us. Yet God also nudges, pushes us into action. To be a disciple means we need to get our hands dirty. We cannot divorce ourselves from the ills of our world. Social justice is a nonnegotiable element of the Catholic faith. The issues confronting us are many --- hunger, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, sweatshop labor, labor rights, human trafficking, immigration, health care, violence, abortion. Unfortunately, many of these issues have become political. These are not political issues, these are God’s concerns and he invites us to partner with him in answering the prayers of those who are hurting and are in need.

The issues are many and it is easy to become overwhelmed. To pull the sheets up over our heads and hope they will go away. I am reminded of this story: Once upon a time, a young girl was walking along a beach after a storm had washed thousands of starfish ashore. Knowing that the starfish would die if left on the sand, she began picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the ocean.

As she worked, a man approached her and asked, “Why are you doing this? You can’t possibly save all these starfish. What difference can you make?” The girl paused, feeling a bit disheartened by his words. However, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the water. She looked up at the man and replied, “I made a difference for that one!”.

How can each of us contribute to heighten the kingdom of God. We cannot be well informed on every issue. Situations in life may keep us from being in the forefront. But we can participate through prayer, writing to officials who can make changes, to donate to organizations which work to bring an end to injustices, or by changing our own attitudes and lifestyle.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) wrote this prayer entitled: Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours. May each of us be able to say, “With God’s help I made a difference in their life.”

Have a faith filled week! Fr. Ron