“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:34-40)
Jesus makes clear that loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves fulfills the Law of God which He has written on every human heart. I am grateful for Fr Jacob’s last few bulletin articles which focused on the first part of this great commandment about loving God in giving us some practical ways to live that out through our reception of the Sacraments, particularly Baptism, Reconciliation, and Eucharist.
This week I would like to write a little about the second part of the commandment about loving our neighbor. Jesus makes very explicit just a couple chapters later in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 25-31-40) that serving the least of our brothers (or not serving them) is one of the ways we will be judged (also for our faith and perseverance [Matthew 25:1-13] and how we used the gifts God has given to us for the building up of His Kingdom [Matthew 25:14-30]) when we meet Jesus face to face after our death.
It can sometimes be the most challenging to serve the needs of our brothers and sisters in need in our community either because we are uncomfortable with it, or we just don’t know what to do or how to do it. Thankfully, in our mission field we have two great organizations that we have an opportunity to be a part of, and they focus on the corporal works of mercy as seen In Matthew 25:31-40. These organizations are The Society of St. Vincent DePaul, and Beatitudes in Action.
We have a local chapter of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul right here in our mission field, but we are looking for more members, and the leadership of the Society in our Diocese is asking us to partner with all Catholics and mission fields across the city of Duluth to work together for the needs of the poor in our community. One of the main ministries of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul is home visits. Here is a description from their website https://ssvpusa.org/.
“The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was formed when a group of young college students committed themselves to follow Christ’s example, declaring “Let us go to the poor!”
The Home Visit remains the central work of Members and Conferences of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. On Home Visits, Vincentians do not merely “stand with” the poor; we sit with them, we listen to them, we pray with them, and we seek to help them in the best way possible.
This commonly includes things like rental assistance, or help with utility bills or food. No work of charity is foreign to the Society. It includes any form of help that alleviates suffering or deprivation and promotes human dignity and personal integrity in all their dimensions.
Vincentians are not social workers. We serve as neighbors, seeking to understand the troubles of those we serve as we would a brother or sister, and to form relationships based on trust and friendship, and to walk with our neighbors in their time of trouble.”
The other organization in our mission field which began from parishioners in our mission field at St. Michael’s is Beatitudes in Action.
“'Beatitudes in Action' has started as parish ministry to put in action Jesus' teachings and particularly the Beatitudes to help the poor, homeless and hungry. It has now expanded to parishes in the East side of Duluth. The spiritual foundation of the ministry is the charism and spirituality of the Order of Malta. Andrew Busam, who is a member of the Order, has been giving talks about his Order and their mission to help the poor and the sick. This message inspired some parishioners to embrace the charism and started the new ministry in the parish.”
As your pastor, I encourage all of our parishioners to consider if the Lord is calling you to help in either of these organizations. The call to serve the poor, and to love our neighbor is a mandate from Jesus Christ, Our Lord and God. The Society of St Vincent DePaul, and Beatitudes in Action are two local ways to do this with other Catholics who are already doing so. Please contact any of our parish offices if you are interested in learning more. We will connect you to the organization you are most interested in. May God inspire all of us, and give us the grace to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
God bless. – Fr Seth