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St. Francis of AssisiText Box: Notes for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Times – Oct 23, 2011 Presented by request of several parishioners Aristides, 2nd century Athenian Philosopher, wrote to Emperor Hadrian: “Early believers, Christians, love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If one of them has something, he gives freely to the one who has nothing without boasting. If they see a stranger, Christians take him home and are happy as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead through the Spirit of God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail or persecuted for professing the name of their redeemer, they all give him what he needs and, if possible to redeem him, they set him free. And if there is among them any poor or naked, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply the needy. They live with much care, justly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded, and they do not declare in the ears of the multitude the kind deeds they do but are careful that no one should take notice of them. Truly this is a new people and there is something divine in them.” ---------------------- These early Christians took Jesus at his word! “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself!” As the saying goes, “You’ve come a long way, Baby!” Maybe we’ve come too far! Maybe it’s time to look back at our ancestors in Faith and re-learn from them… Questions to ponder: · I wonder how many of us have fasted even a day, much less 2 or 3 days, to have enough to share with someone else? · Are we ready to see the stranger as our sibling? · Since the “stranger” is called the “alien” [meaning “immigrant”] in the Book of Exodus, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.,’” showing that they remain “aliens” because their ancestors were, … do we realize that in our ancestors we are also immigrants? All of us fit that category unless we are direct descendants of the American [Native] American… The question becomes: “Can we recognize today’s more recent immigrant as our sister or brother? · In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus easily passes the test of the scholar of the law by stating that the whole law and prophets depend on the two commandments: first “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and second “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The question then is twofold: “How can I give my whole person/being over to God, holding nothing back? What does it mean for me to love my neighbor with the same respect, dignity and appreciation that I want for myself?”