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Gospel: Luke 6: 27-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When we consider some of the bigger challenges facing our world, like poverty, hunger, unpredictable weather, and violence, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say these problems are almost too big to be solved.
But the slave trade wasn’t any different.
It was a horrific practice adopted by empires and nations over the course of history. I’m sure many who were surrounded by it threw their hands up, saying change simply wasn’t possible.
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Today we celebrate the life of someone who never gave up. He tackled the slave trade head on; while he didn’t end it, he did something about it.
Father Peter Claver was a Spanish priest from the 17th century who became a missionary in Cartagena, Colombia, which was at the time, the epicenter of the slave trade.
For 33 years, Father Claver stood on the shores of Cartagena, meeting incoming slaves with food, water, and interpreters. He also baptized over 300,000 of them.
He was a flicker of light – the face of Christ – in what was an otherwise dark and scary place.
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While we may not resolve every – or any – issue facing our world today, we can all do something about it.
We can address poverty one stomach at a time; homelessness one home at a time; loneliness one smile at a time.
So, what’s one thing I can do for someone else in honor of Father Claver?
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“For whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters,” Jesus says, “you do to me.”
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Image credits: (1) Jacobs Media Strategies (2) Angelus News (3) Lovely Quotes