Monday, November 30, 2015

General Council begins today with the Feast of St. Andrew....

Br. Raniero celebrated the Eucharist. He preached on today's word of God and shared his experience with the Queen of England.....he prayed that the unity between two churches may realize soon...he shared that he was invited by the Queen to her house where Prince Carlo was present too....
There is a video on YouTube that experimented on what passersby would do if someone simply collapsed in a public place and sought help. Shockingly, many people who walked by could not be bothered and simply walked on. The video looks like a modern version of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25 – 36)
     Hopefully many of us would say that we would not be like the priest or the Levite in the parable or many in the video who did not stop to help.   We would think that we would stop to offer our help or, at the very least, to see if we could help.  We believe, after all, that this is what a good Christian would do.    
     The story portrayed in today's Gospel reading is similar, although not exactly the same. Simon and Andrew, fishermen, were casting their nets, and James and John were helping their father mend their nets. They wanted to join Jesus in “fishing for people.”
     Jesus knew he needed help in his task of preaching the Good News; he could not do his task alone. He needed the help of others. Jesus asked them to help him and they left what they were doing to follow him.   
     How many among us would do what these four fishermen did? Can we simply abandon our current occupation, our concerns, and our worries so that we can do God's work? If we think we are already doing God's work, how are we challenged to follow Jesus and be  "fishers of people"?   
     The man in the video was in need of help, like the pilgrim who fell into the hands of robbers.  Who are people like them in our lives today? Do we just pass by and not bother or do we heed the call to help those in need?
     Not only are we urged to do as the good Samaritan. More important Jesus identifies with those in need.





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