Our Father - the Just Judge

 

In the gospel reading from Luke for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary time, Jesus finishes his parable about the unjust judge by comparing him with God and asking, "Will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays? I promise you, he will see justice done to them and done speedily." In the plays of Ancient Greece, someone playing the part of a god would be let down in a basket by ropes, a "Deus ex machina (god in a machine,)" to resolve a hopeless knot of problems that humans had gotten themselves into in the plot of the play. But the God of Jesus and his disciples, our Heavenly Father, is not a "Deus ex machina." Our God works through ordinary people who seek out and follow God's will. People like you and me, and the politicians we elect when we vote wisely and compassionately with an eye to justice and the common good, rather than what is simply going to be best for me without regard to others and their just demands.

Here in Ontario we are in the midst of election campaigning. Although these are 'only' municipal elections, not Federal or Provincial, it behooves us as Christians, Catholics and Vincentians to exercise our civic privilege, and to do so responsibly as a duty, identifying and voting for those candidates whom we believe will best serve the interests of the common good. 

The cry of the poor for food and affordable housing is coming to the ears of our Heavenly Father who wants to see justice done for them. 

The cry of the earth for sustainable development and resource usage in the face of land exploitation by unscrupulous property developers is also going up to the ears of our God along with the cry of the poor.

As Vincentians, our mission is to live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy. We are called to be disciples of Jesus, and Vincentians, 24/7 - not just when delivering food cards.

Happy voting.

Do not let us turn into “broken cisterns” - St John XXIII

 Undated photo released by the Vatican in December 2010. (CNS photo/Vatican)

“O Lord, do not let us turn into “broken cisterns” that can hold no water… do not let us be so blinded by the enjoyment of the good things of earth that our hearts become insensible to the cry of the poor, of the sick, of orphaned children and of those innumerable brothers and sisters of ours who lack the necessary minimum to eat, to clothe their nakedness, and to gather their family together in one roof.”

― Saint John XXIII - Pope

Serving the poor is to be our first preference - St Vincent de Paul

Christ begging from Fr Vincent

From the writing of Saint Vincent de Paul, priest,
taken from the Office of Readings for September 27th.

Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool... and a stumbling block..., he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.

Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.

It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

Prayer

O God,
who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that,
afire with that same spirit,
we may love what he loved and
put into practice what he taught.