I am
terrible at being a Christian, but I am trying to do better. Maybe a lot of us
are terrible at being a Christian.
A couple of
weeks ago, a woman came up to me after mass at OLF and said I liked your
message. I know her. She often asks me
for help.
She is homeless and shows up for the coffee
and donuts before mass and will stay for mass. She is not Catholic.
I have
helped her find places to stay. I have helped her find something to eat. I have
given her a few dollars to help her out. That day she did not ask for
anything. She was speaking to others and
was gone by the time I had closed up the church.
That
evening it was cold and started raining.
On the news
that Monday, they reported an arrest of that same woman for breaking into what
she thought was a vacant house to get out of the rain.
I am
terrible at being a Christian, but I am trying to do better.
Northeast Louisiana
needs more services for those in need. Our community is reaching out; but,
there is still a shortage of beds, food, and safety for those on the street. The
Christian community supports many in need. We are a community trying to do
better, but so much more is needed.
The community of believers was of one mind and
heart and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own. There was no
needy person among them.
If that is
what it means to be a Christian, I am probably terrible at it. The call to community is not a political idea.
It’s a call to love and mercy has everything to do with it
The community of believers was of one mind and heart.
We are called to be of one mind. In the Gospel it says we are
called “to live in the Spirit.” He breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
To live in
the Spirit is not being super religious, super pious, a charismatic zealot, or
theological savant. It is to be alive with the gifts of Holy Spirit.
The Spirit
is present when charity, joy, peace, patience, endurance, kindness, generosity,
faith, mildness, and chastity are deeply in our lives.
When these
gifts are present, the Holy Spirit permeates the air around us. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and
the Spirit is truth.
We are called to be of one heart – we know we love the children of God when we love God. Let’s put it
another way - When we love each other, we love God.
Isn’t that
a hard thing to do? When people get together, there is always a difference of
opinion, thoughts, and politics. Why do you think every time Jesus showed up he
called out “Peace be with you."
On this
Divine Mercy Sunday when we contemplate God’s Divine Mercy remember our call to
mercy. Acts of love in which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his
spiritual and bodily necessities.
Instructing,
advising, consoling, comforting forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently are
spiritual works of mercy.
The
corporal works of mercy are feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless,
clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.
Among all
these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal
charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God:
The community of believers was of one mind and
heart. The community is not perfect and
bears in its hands and side the wounds of the homeless, the abused, the
forgotten, and the struggling. "Put your finger here and see my hands,
put your hand into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Yet, when
there is community, Jesus shows up and says – see me, touch me, receive the
Holy Spirit.
The call to
be a community calls us to love. Pope
Francis tweeted on this Divine Mercy Sunday- God covers us with His Mercy. He
enfolds us in Christ, so that we can become instruments of his goodness. In
that goodness, we become a community called together by Christ, begotten by God
to conquer the world through love.
I am terrible at being a Christian, but I am
trying to get better in God’s Divine Mercy.
We should all try to be a better Christian, be
good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.
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