A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[320] Heb 10:19-25 Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 Mark 4:21-25

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

A friend once told me a story about a beggar he encountered during a particularly bitter winter evening. My friend, seeing the barren, cold head of the beggar, gave him his hat, straight from his own head. The beggar thanked him, and left. The next day, by chance, my friend crossed the same beggar, and was surprised to note that, despite the cold, the man once again did not have a hat on. When my friend asked why this was, the man replied that he sold the hat for a beer. At times, it can seem that if everyone took care of their own needs, the world would be better off.

It is all too easy to fall into this line of thinking – it’s something I’m guilty of on a daily basis. Ironically, it becomes easier to do the more blessed by God we are. When we see others stumble and falter over something that we have never had much of an issue with, we gloss over them. We think “they had it coming!” or “better them than me,” or don’t think about it at all. From sinners to family members (not that those are mutually exclusive), we are often quick to dismiss the struggles of others as futile, irrelevant, or the consequence of the individual’s choices.

While, to some degree, these things may be true, today’s reading reminds us of a lesson of critical importance. We are not called to be solitary ships upon the sea, but rather beacons of Christ’s love to others. When we see others in struggles, even when they are not struggles that we have shared or can immediately relate to, we must remember that God calls on us to be his messengers. We must not only rise to the occasion in our own daily struggles, but we must help others in theirs as well. Oftentimes, doing so benefits ourselves as much as those being helped.

As is the case with all of us, our pains are often brought on by our own actions. But it is those that struggle most that most need support, not contempt. My friend, a priest, reminded me of this when he told me the story mentioned above. He told me, “God is in all actions done from love.” As we forge on through the rest of this year, I ask that we all remember to show Christ’s love through our own love, through compassion, patience, and forgiveness.