I’d like to start out today recalling part of the
opening prayer: that God Manifest His almighty power above all by pardoning and
showing mercy, and bestowing his grace abundantly. This prayer is very fitting as
Pope Francis visits our country this week for the World Meeting of
Families. Pope Francis has
declared this upcoming Church year, as a year of Mercy. I think his visit here is helping to usher
in a spirit of Mercy through all the People of God.
Our first reading and the Gospel have a common theme
of God bestowing his grace through the Spirit, but our human nature presents some
challenges. In the Gospel John came to Jesus
complaining about others “who do not follow us” driving out demons. John is jealous of others doing good
works in Jesus name, because they’re not part of the inner circle of the
disciples. His complaint is that
they’re “not one of us”. In a similar situation Joshua complains to Moses about
Eldad and Medad prophesying. They weren’t present when God’s spirit came upon
the seventy elders. Joshua requests
Moses to stop them. Both John and
Joshua had the attitude they were the exclusive ones to carry out the work of
God.
We need to be careful not to fall into this mindset. As Catholics we may sometimes think we have
exclusivity on carrying out good works in Jesus’ name. We may not be open to working with
others faith tradition because they’re “not one us”. As Catholic’s the Spirit is bestowed on us at Baptism and
enables us extend God’s love and mercy.
We’re reminded of this when we ask for a portion of the Lord’s spirit to
come upon us when we he hear in Mass: “The Lord be with you” and we respond:
“And with your Spirit”. Our Lord Jesus is present in us through
the Holy Spirit. But we need to remember that God can also extend the Holy Spirit
to those he wishes.
Jesus responds to John that “no one performs a mighty
deed in His name who can at the same time speak ill of me”, and that, “whoever is
not against us is for us”. He is affirming that the power to do
good works in his name is not exclusive to the small circle of the
disciples. Jesus tells them,
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because they belong to Christ
will surely not lose their reward.” Moses as well responds to the Joshua’s complaints: “Are you
jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would
that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Both Jesus and Moses testify to John and Joshua that God’s
work is not exclusive to their inner circles, but also to those whom God chooses
to work through.
Pope Francis appeals to people of many faiths and
even those of no faith who aspire for the common good of all God’s people. I think his example of being a humble
servant
outreaching to those most in need of love and mercy is what inspires
others. During the pope’s visit
he’s making time to visit a prison. On Sunday he’ll be at the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia. The
inmates there are Muslims, Christians, and some of no faith. Some of them helped to build a special chair
for Pope Francis. The Pope, making
time to visit, will surely inspire them and give them hope. It will show that
they are important and have value as being God’s children. Many of these men
and women have never had love or mercy ever extended to them in their entire lives.
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| CNS/Paul Haring |
I’ve been involved with jail & prison ministry
in my works of charity.
This
has really opened up my eyes to the working of the Holy Spirit in people of many
faith traditions through Kairos prison ministry. Kairos is an ecumenical ministry to men and women in prisons
throughout the world. The Kairos
teams present retreats over a weekend similar to Christ Renews His Parish. The teams are made up of laypersons and
clergy of various Christian faith traditions. Their goal is to introduce the inmates to the person
of Jesus who extends love and mercy to them. Listen, Listen, Love, Love is the
theme of the presenting team, which totally focuses on showing love to the
participants.
I’ve had the privilege of serving on one retreat
weekend, which required months of preparation. A majority of the presenting
team was of other faith traditions.
I must admit feeling a little apprehensive being in the minority as a Catholic
and maybe even a little jealous of the other faith traditions As the weekend progressed I could
genuinely see the working of the Holy Spirit in both the presenters and the
participants. At the weekend’s
conclusion I witnessed the unsolicited personal testimony of one of the most
unlikely participants who shared his encounter with the love of mercy of
Christ. It’s amazing what the Holy
Spirit can accomplish through those formally baptized and those whom God wishes
to pour his grace on abundantly.
As we proceed to receive the Eucharist let us ask
the Holy Spirit to help us share God’s love and mercy and to recognize the
Spirit working in others to build up God’s kingdom bringing Christ to those
most in need.
God
bless you.
