Pray for the Poor

When I read the Bible readings for this Sunday, I remembered this quote from Saint John XXIII when he opened the Second Vatican Council in 1962. His saintly words apply to our day, as well.

How do they speak to you? How might you live your life with Christian hope rather than despair?

“It often happens, as we have learned in the daily exercise of the apostolic ministry, that, not without offense to our ears, the voices of people are brought to us who, although burning with religious fervor, nevertheless do not think things through with enough discretion and prudence of judgement. These people see only ruin and calamity in the present conditions of human society. They keep repeating that our times, if compared to past centuries, have been getting worse. They act as if they have nothing to learn from history, which is the teacher of life, and as if at the time of past Councils everything went favorably and correctly with respect to Christian doctrine, morality, and the Church's proper freedom. We believe we must quite disagree with these prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster, as if the end of the world were at hand.”

This weekend, Pope Francis is visiting Assisi, Italy to commemorate the World Day of the Poor. As our parish is dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, I encourage you to pray for the poor in our community. Watch the coverage of our Holy Father’s visit to the poor of Assisi. What does he say? What does he do? How might he be calling us to be generous in love and service to the poor among us?

Rev. Mark Zacker