Prayer, scripture passages, reflections, intercession, and Catholic social teaching quote for Caritas Internationalis Week of Action for its campaign "One Human Family, Food for All."
Original Title
October 12, 2014; "One Human Family, Food for All"
Prayer, scripture passages, reflections, intercession, and Catholic social teaching quote for Caritas Internationalis Week of Action for its campaign "One Human Family, Food for All."
Prayer, scripture passages, reflections, intercession, and Catholic social teaching quote for Caritas Internationalis Week of Action for its campaign "One Human Family, Food for All."
Opening prayer Good and loving God, on this outset of the Caritas Internationalis Week of Action for One Human Family, Food for All, we ask your blessing upon the staff of Caritas and its member organizations. May their message and witness lead us toward a greater understanding of hunger and elimination of this world scourge. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. Scripture passage Isaiah 25: 6-10a, Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14 Reflection In describing the Kingdom of God and their sense of heaven, both the First Reading and the Gospel offer us the metaphor of a great feast in which all are invited to attend and partake in the celebration of abundance and joy.
After reading the parable in the Gospel, I kept wondering, Who would refuse such an invitation?. How could it be that the King would be faced with such a dilemma? Worse yet, why would some guests go so far as to murder the messengers? In the Second Reading, St. Paul offers an insight to a possible answer.
St. Pauls experience is that God does indeed provide, but such provisions are brought upon by our ability to share Gods gifts with one another. In Pauls case, he acknowledges the way that the Philippian community has helped him throughout his ministry: You sent me help for my needs more than once I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. -Philippians 4: 16, 18 I find it curious that St. Paul uses the language of sacrifice to describe the donations made by the Philippian community to him. This may explain the stumbling block for the invited guests who may not have wanted to partake of a feast that implied a certain social sacrifice on their part. Our Church makes this connection by celebrating the feast through Jesus own sacrifice which we receive in the bread and wine. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1397 reminds us that the Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest. We have a tendency to see the social ministries of our parishes and Catholic Charities separate from the liturgical worship of our Church but, as the readings and our Catholic social teachings suggest, that is simply not the case. This Thursday, October 16, the Church observes World Food Day. We acknowledge the Caritas Internationalis Week of Action for One Human Family, Food for All through this Friday. Let us dedicate ourselves to making the connection with our Sunday worship and our shared obligation to participate in the sacrifice of the Mass by sharing what we have with one another. Please get to know your own parish social ministry and Catholic Charities programs and consider taking part in these aspects of our Eucharistic celebrations.
John Gonzalez, Parish Social Ministry Developer, Catholic Charities Diocese of Rockville Centre General Intercession For the ability of preachers to help the faithful connect the Word of God with works of charity and justice, let us pray to the Lord. Catholic Social Teaching Too often, the call of the Gospel and the social implications of the Eucharist are ignored or neglected in our daily lives. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church insists, "The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest (no. 1397).
Source: Catholic Church. A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God's Children : a Pastoral Reflection of the U.S. Catholic Bishops. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002.