May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit. It is 27th September 2021.
We reflect on Zechariah 8:1-8 and the Gospel of Luke 9:46-50.
We celebrate the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, a priest, whose love towards the poor was so inspiring and hence his followers were called, ‘Lazarists’. The captivating power of the founder brought them to be known as Vincentians, although the official name is the Congregation of the Mission (CM). May the Lord continue to bless all the Vincentians. May we emulate the values of the saint in our life too.
Emotions are not the spectacles of the visions of love. Truth and mutual respect keep authentic love from corruption.
The poor need compassion, not compensation alone. The poor do not require our sympathy but profound sensitivity towards them as persons. The exploitation, manipulation, maltreatment, indifference, abuse of the poor thrives in any community that
The place we keep the poor in our life is the place where God keeps us. Hebrew proverb goes this way: “When a needy person stands at your door, God himself stands at his side.” In other words, God treats us the exact way we handle the poor in our life. Whenever we make someone happy by sharing our wealth, time, affection, and resources with the needy, God prefers to love, live because of the selfless service we offer to the others.
Greatness comes by time and testing in the pool of generosity towards the poor and the needy. God is interested in restoration no matter how broken and abandoned our lives could be. God is delighted to see people young and old to dance and dream in the streets of victory and freedom. God comes to help the poor and the vulnerable through us. We need to be alert at all times to look out for opportunities to help and share. Once the opportunity to help someone is missed or overlooked then it is lost forever. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Mother Theresa and St. Vincent de Paul were always ready to extend their helping hands to the poor. Compassion blooms where gratitude is grafted in life. Jesus Himself invites us to become like children. Even though the children were the least considered without power or influence in the community, Jesus presented them the model of a child who does not hold to envy and jealousy. “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” (Lk.9:50)
May the Lord bless our efforts in reaching out to the needy on time. There is someone out there always in need of help. Let us continue to reach out, render, and refill them. God bless you