Did we meet the poor with love?
Fr. Steve speaks on our accountability to care for the poor and the marginalized, but points out that the best thing we can give, the best way we can help them is to pass on to them the good news of the gospel. One day the Lord will want to know what we did with the least of these, his brothers and sisters. Did we meet them with love? Love is not a pat on the head and a $20 bill. Did we lead them into a relationship with Jesus himself? Today we remember that one day we will be separated sheep from goats. We need to give a love that is not condescending or dismissive but true.
If we let God love us and heal our broken hearts then we can pass that love on to others. We can’t give what we don’t have. If I don’t let God love me and heal me then I can’t pass that on to others.
Fr. Steve also speaks about bishop Boyea’s Grow&Go and Catholics Come Home initiatives to bring people to the Lord and bring the lost sheep of the faith back to the Church. We have to bring people not out of fear of punishment if we don’t but out of joy.
He also talks about the Come and See program which will start in the parish in the new year. It is a regular meeting that we can bring new people to, so they don’t have to wait till the fall when Alpha starts and it has a simple format: prayer, a testimony and fellowship. Fr. Steve urges us to be welcoming to new people, to let them see the joy that we have in the Lord.
