From Today's Readings:
Alleluia See Lk 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
More than any other gospel writer Luke is concerned with Jesus’ attitude toward the economically and socially poor. At times, the poor in Luke’s gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected, and it is they who accept Jesus’ message of salvation.
When you have struggled, that is when you were poor, in need of a solution … a Savior.
In my ups and downs of life as a freelancer, and with health issues, I have at times joined in line at the Catholic Charities food pantry. What a phenomenal job these people do, most of them volunteers, to help others make it through life and their struggles.
I have felt the love and concern of Jesus for me through these people. Anyone who goes through that experience, that doesn’t know Jesus, will meet Him through these people and ask what makes them different.
I have talked with many in that line and, other than appearance, they are more intelligent than you may be led to believe. They’re just going through a struggle because of a circumstance or a decision they made, and sometimes for longer seasons than others.
This is one reason why I think Pope Francis calls us to bring the gospel to the poor, because they are most ready to meet Jesus. The rest of us are a little harder to convince, because there is too much in our lives distracting us from dependence on God fully.
Looking at this another way, whatever we depend on is what fills the void in our lives. Often, we eat or drink, or do other things, in excess to fill a void in our souls. Most of our repetitive sins are caused by an unhealed desire to fill a certain void.
The decisions we make, or don’t make, not only affect us and our future but those in our lives, and our family three generations deep. As Catholic men we need to depend on Jesus not only for ourselves, but on behalf of our families.
This is why Bishop Perry’s Prayer for Employment (PDF) is so important to hold on to, no matter how fully employed we are or not. Also it is important to be sharing in a men’s faith group, or just having coffee with other Catholic men often.
We all go through struggles, and we all take turns being Jesus to and for each other.
In the Spirit of the Lord.
Ask yourself: When things are going well for me, am I tempted to think it is only because of my own efforts?
“Whom we pray for and the events included in our prayer tell us how broad and deep is the horizon of our life at any one time.”
- Cardinal Francis George