13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Click here for today's readings.

The second reading urges us to go further in our faith then we had before. We may have come to mass today, we may have prayed, worshiped and loved our neighbor. But do we give freely of what God has given to us? We need to take from our abundance and give to others, and when others have more, they shall give to us. Abundance is not always in the form of money or goods, it can come in the form of love and compassion. Even a child knows this rule. When they see someone sad, they have innate ability to feel the sadness and comfort their neighbor out of the abundance of their love.

God made us to be everlasting. In the garden of eden, we were made to live forever. Desire, want, and greed, prompted by the serpent drove mankind to take from the forbidden fruit and death was the punishment. However, if we are born again in Christ, then we are free from death. Should we not also be free from desire, want and greed? If we have much, let us give it to those who are in need. If we have little, let us share what we can when we can. If we always shared what we had, then those without would not need to desire, want nor feel envious of what others have. They would know that if their neighbor has something that they would like, they only need to ask, and that neighbor will share with them.

Last week, we examined God's might and power over all creation, and placing our trust in God's providence. We also had the opportunity to sign letters to our congresspersons regarding policies that would fight worldwide poverty. After the 6 o'clock mass, there was another opportunity to address poverty. A man was standing outside of church with a sign that asked for help for him and his children. He had lost his job and could not pay his rent. His older daughter was at the exit of the parking lot. It is challenging to see people begging, but especially outside of our church, and especially when we had just been asking others to help fight poverty. How did we respond as a community to this man and his family? Did they go home hungry that night? Did they lose their apartment? I don't know. What I do know is that God has showed us the ultimate sign of generosity. God has asked us to respond accordingly. Our abundance must meet the needs of others.

In the Gospel, Jesus performed many miracles, and we are challenged to do the same. Giving of ourselves can help make miracles happen. This week, I leave you with a prayer written by St. Teresa of Avila, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion is to look out to the earth, yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.”