Word to the Wise
Monday, March 11, 2019 - 1st Week of Lent - Mon
[Lev 19:1-2, 11-18 and Matt 25:31-46]You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [Leviticus] "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me." [Matthew]
The gospel scripture for today appears in dramatic artistic form on the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel in Rome! For those who haven't seen it , it is readily available in many places on the internet and art books on the Vatican. Michelangelo knew how to get his point across. In the middle of the mural is a horrified naked figure who has just realized how greatly he failed to respond to the needs of Jesus' least brothers and sisters. Someone has said, "No one should come to the final judgment without a letter of recommendation from the poor!"
One of the signs of Lent is the appearance of the little cardboard bowls in the back of the church - the "rice bowls" for Catholic Relief Services. Certainly these are a reminder of Lenten sacrifice that can benefit the poor and the hungry, and I hope they will be well-used, But, the reminder should not be only for Lent. When the rice bowls disappear from the vestibule, our support for the poor and all the others that Jesus mentions should not. Forty days should be translated into 365 days. We don't have to look far. The poor and hungry, naked and thirsty, sick and imprisoned and strangers are all around us, at our borders and in our neighborhoods. They need us every day. The rice bowl can be the start of a whole new attitude and way of life that can bring us into direct contact with Jesus in our neighbor. AMEN