Word to the Wise
Monday, April 25, 2016 - April 25 - St. Mark, evangelist
[1 Pet 5:5b-14 and Mark 16:15-20]MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016. ST. MARK, EVANGELIST [1 Peter 5:5b-14 and Mark 16:15-20] "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." This sentence from the last chapter of the Gospel of Mark makes me think of St. Francis, surrounded by all the various "creatures" to whom he preached the gospel. One might wonder how one does that, but it seems to me that care for our "common home" is the way. Pope Francis called all of us to that care in his encyclical, "Laudato Si." There is an expression, "Fouling one's own best." It is meant to show how a person can be his or her own worst enemy. I think we do this when we abuse the environment for the sake of short term economic gain or convenience. Why pollute the air we breathe or the water we drink or the food we eat? It doesn't make sense, but logic takes a back seat to profit. Proclaiming the gospel to every creature is more than speaking to people, it is caring for them by not making life harder. AMEN