To the Band of Brothers: December 1, 2020
Good morning!
Welcome back (well, kind of since you’re virtual today). I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break. I hope you had an opportunity to really sit back and give thanks for the blessings in your life. It’s a good exercise to do as often as possible. I have discovered over the years that one of the most important keys to happiness is gratitude. So, make sure to extend the moments of thanksgiving to the whole year. That is, if you want to be happy the whole year.
I know before we went on break I sent out an email about Thanksgiving, but a thought came to me at mass on Thursday morning that I wanted to share with you. Every year I get to preside at the early morning Mass on Thanksgiving at the soup kitchen of the Missionaries of Charity. Those sisters are never off. They feed homeless men, women, and children 365 days of the year. It was also nice to see several Belen families there for the Mass and then stay to help serve breakfast.
The gospel for the day was taken from St. Luke 17:11-19 and tells the story of the ten lepers who approach Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. I am sure you’ve heard the story a million times. They ask Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priests and on their way they are healed. Of the ten, only one goes back to thank Jesus. This man was a Samaritan.
Being a Samaritan was not a good thing for the Jews in the time of Jesus. Even though the region of Samaria was found within the borders of Israel, the Samaritans were not practicing Jews. Years before, when Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians, they had strayed from the faith and had picked up the pagan practices of their conquerors. For this reason, they were shunned by the Israelites. Anyone who dealt with them or even walked through Samaria was considered religiously and morally impure.
Yet, here there were nine Jews who were hanging out with one Samaritan. The fact is, because all ten were lepers and already considered impure because of their illness, having one who was also a Samaritan was no big deal, I am sure. When all ten approached Jesus, all ten asked for compassion, and all ten were cured. That means that Jesus, a Jew, was not phased by the fact that this one leper was a Samaritan. He cured him no matter what his religious beliefs or moral standing. For Jesus what was important at that very moment was his need.
I had this thought as I sat in that soup kitchen and watched the Missionaries of Charity serve all the homeless people who approached them, no matter what their religious beliefs, moral standing, or political inclinations. They didn’t stand at the door and ask them what church they went to, what lifestyle they led, or who they voted for. The only thing these religious women were interested in was their need. The homeless people were hungry and thirsty and so, like Jesus, they gave them food to eat and water to drink.
The Missionaries of Charity do only what their foundress, St. Teresa of Calcutta, did her whole life. When Mother Teresa walked the streets of India, she served every man, woman, and child in need. She bathed the lepers, fed the hungry, and clothed the naked no matter what religion they belonged to. As a matter of fact, in India where she worked most of her life, the majority of the people she served were Hindu. The key to Mother Teresa’s ministry was to see the face of Jesus in everyone she served. It didn’t matter the religion they practiced (if any), the color of their skin, or the lifestyle they led. If there was a need, she showed compassion and served.
Like Jesus and the Missionaries of Charity, our call to service and compassion for those most in need is not bound to any one particular group of people. Our charity and love must be boundless. This is the true calling of the Christian man. When we claim to be “men for others,” it doesn’t mean the “others” are those of our own kind or even liking. The “others” in our motto refers to everyone without any limitations.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.