When I was thirteen years old, I traveled to Cusco, Peru, the old capital of the Inca Empire, for the first time.\u00a0 I arrived by airplane; it was just a short one-hour flight from Lima compared to the 24 hours it takes by bus due to the mountainous terrain.\u00a0 During the flight, we each received a box with two small sandwiches.\u00a0 I ate one and stored the second in my pocket for later.<\/p>\n
After getting acclimated to the high altitude by taking a rest at our hotel, (Cusco is at over 11,000 feet or 3,400 meters above sea level), we went for a walk downtown.\u00a0 Half a block from the main square, a young Indian boy approached me asking for money.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have anything to give him, but I reached into my pocket and I gave him the sandwich.\u00a0 To this day, I have never seen someone\u2019s eyes light up as his eyes did.\u00a0 He grabbed the sandwich and ran away, almost as if he was afraid I\u2019d change my mind and take it back.\u00a0 As a thirteen-year-old who lived comfortably, I was blown away by a seven- or eight-year-old child who would be so hungry that he\u2019d act this way.<\/p>\n
Some years later, when I was 22, I was on a medical mission trip to a very rural area of north western Ecuador.\u00a0 I was working as a translator for a pediatrician.\u00a0 Suddenly we heard a huge tumult outside, yelling and lots of noise.\u00a0 I ran outside to find out what happened: two women were fighting over the last tube of toothpaste we had to give away.\u00a0 A tube of toothpaste\u2026 this spoke of unimaginable need.<\/p>\n
\u201cShare your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked, and do not turn your back on your own.\u00a0 If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness,\u201d writes the prophet Isaiah.<\/p>\n
In his famous letter from a Birmingham Jail, the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior wrote, \u201cinjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.\u00a0 Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The message of today\u2019s readings is clear: Isaiah tells us that when we care for those in greatest need, the darkness of our own lives and the darkness that hovers over the world gives way to the light of Christ.\u00a0 We cannot remain indifferent to the pain, suffering and injustice experienced by the least of our brothers and sisters \u00a0\u2013 we are called to respond.\u00a0 We pray, yes, we think about them, yes, but action is needed.<\/p>\n
Jesus in the Gospel passage tells us that we are the salt of the earth.\u00a0 Salt is meant to give flavor\u2026 how do we season our daily lives with the salt that is Jesus Christ?\u00a0 How do we as a Church season the world?\u00a0 Jesus invites us to boldly spread His light by being the salt of the earth.<\/p>\n
Pope Francis wrote a few years ago that \u201cthe parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God\u2019s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration\u2026 it is a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a parish, we not only gather to worship, and to grow together as a community through fellowship, but we come to be challenged and strengthened to be the salt of the earth.<\/p>\n
A parish must look outwards with a missionary spirit in order to be strong.\u00a0 We as parishioners must look outwards with a missionary spirit to respond to the challenge of the Gospel to be salt of the earth.<\/p>\n
How is Jesus inviting us to be even more outward looking as a parish and as individuals?<\/p>\n
It is easier to look the other way when we see a need: who in your life needs a listening ear?\u00a0 Who needs some financial assistance?\u00a0 Who needs encouragement?<\/p>\n
How is Jesus calling you to respond to the needs that surround you?<\/p>\n
Preparing a plate of food and taking it to a neighbor is need is worth much more than a check for $1,000 written to your favorite charity.<\/p>\n
As a Parish community we not only have the responsibility to have outreach, but also the need to provide avenues for parishioners to serve. \u00a0To become light of the world and salt of the earth, we have to get our hands dirty.<\/p>\n
My desire is that by this summer, the Outreach Center at Our Lady of Lourdes will be open not only to provide services to those in need, but to provide us as parishioners much needed opportunities for service: tutoring for children struggling at school, assistance with food and clothing, assistance with utilities, counseling, parenting classes, educational opportunities, guidance for pregnant mothers, mentoring for women in difficult situations, workshops, the sky is the limit.<\/p>\n
Saint Teresa of Calcutta famously said, \u201cwe think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless.\u00a0 The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unwanted, unloved and uncared for oftentimes make us feel uncomfortable.\u00a0 Yet so does the message of Jesus.<\/p>\n
We may not be able to change the world, but we can change someone\u2019s world, and the world right around us.<\/p>\n
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When I was thirteen years old, I traveled to Cusco, Peru, the old capital of the Inca Empire, for the first time.\u00a0 I arrived by airplane; it was just a short one-hour flight from Lima compared to the 24 hours it takes by bus due to the mountainous terrain.\u00a0 During the flight, we each received […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":6970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[2112,320,2102,2100],"class_list":["post-6964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-charity","tag-homily","tag-injustice","tag-outreach"],"yoast_head":"\n