Yesterday,
Sunday, I read a short reflection on the Sunday readings by a nun, Sr. Mary
McGlone. A particular paragraph that she wrote rang my Vincentian doorbell.
With
reference to the Sunday gospel where Jesus rejected Satan's temptation to turn
stones into bread, Sr. McGlone writes, "The
devil took normal human desires and blew them out of proportion in such a way
that pursuing a natural good deteriorated into a perversion of the human
vocation to love God and neighbor. When Jesus rejected the temptation to turn
stones to bread, he rejected both the opportunity to devote his power to his
own satisfaction and the impulse to feed the hungry without converting those
who hoard the world's goods."
Reading those words through a Vincentian lens helped me realise that if we are to
fulfil our Vincentian calling to give food and drink to the hungry and
thirsty, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless, it behooves us to remember
that we cannot do this unaided and without resources. We have to go and ask God
either to give us the power to turn stones into bread, or the power to turn
stony hearts into hearts of compassion and generosity.
We do not
have to feel apologetic about doing this. This is our Christian and Vincentian
duty. By doing this we not only help others to feed the hungry and practice
other corporal works of mercy through the giving of alms, but Christ our Lord
will be using us to extend His Kingdom.
(Full text
of Sr. McGlone's reflection can be found here: