POPE LEO XIV
God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God among ourselves, we will go forward.
THE GOSPEL OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me
Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me…..
We practicing Christians take Matthew 25 very seriously. It tends to sum up the whole Gospel of Jesus that we are to love God and our neighbor. In fact, the most practical way of showing our love for God is how we love our neighbor. At the end of Mass we are dismissed with the words go in peace and live the Gospel.
LAST JUDGMENT DISCOURSE MATTHEW 25:21 – 43
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY
CCC 2447 The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in 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:.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC #1907) states that the Common Good presupposes respect for each person. It requires the social well-being and development of everyone, including food, clothing, shelter, health care, work, education etc. It requires peace and justice for security of a just order…. . (CCC 1928-1942, 2419-2449)The fundamental principles of Catholic Social Teaching focus on the dignity and sacredness of each human person, the solidarity that we experience within one another, the promotion of the common good and the proper use and distribution of the goods of this world. The Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches that compassion and love should extend to all people whether they are an enemy or outcast.
GOOD SAMARITAN
LUKE 10:37
SCRIPTURE
On coming into this world, a person is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Talents and gifts are not distributed equally as we see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians chapter 12.
“Now the body is not a single part, but many. Even if a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended…” I Corinthians 12:4-26
In comparing the human body to the mystical body of Christ-the Church, St. Paul goes on to say, “Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this….
God has so constructed the body that there may be no divisions in the body so that the parts of the body may have concern for every other part. If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” Just as it is in the human body so it is in the body of Christ, the Church.” Corinthians 12:4-11; 14-31
REFLECTION
Charitable giving is not enough! In fact someone could do charitable giving for all the wrong reasons, to save on taxes, to feel good about himself, to receive the acclaim of others. We must look at the causes of those in need and address them in our advocacy and at the ballot box.
“Anyone who says I love God and hates his neighbor is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
Don’t blame poverty or lack of resources on God, He has provided us with all the natural resources we need. God’s divine plan wills that each will have their needs supplied by their neighbors. Many Christians will give food or clothing to a needy person but, at the same time, refuse to look at the structures and policies that create poverty in the first place.
We are obliged by justice itself to come to the aid of needy people. The present situation within the world, where some individuals and nations have excess while others lack the basic necessities, is immoral, goes against the teachings of Christ, and must be redressed.
The condemnation of injustice is part of the church’s essential ministry of preaching and is an essential aspect of the church’s prophetic role. At our Baptisms we are called to that prophetic role! Let’s get started!
WE ARE A MISSIONARY CHURCH