Mercy…Wealth at the Service of Poverty

Brothers and Sisters,

This week’s Gospel can be a little confusing if read out of context. After sending out the 72 disciples (men and women) on their mission without any resources “like lambs among wolves” (Lk 10:3) they return back to him full of joy and excitement exclaiming their success.  In hearing about this success, Jesus in turn is over joyed as he listens to their experiences and feels their profound joy. Their joy which stems from their experience makes him happy. Their joy stems from the fact that they have experienced Jesus and have carried out his work and this is what makes them happy.  Jesus calls them “infants” because they are as innocent as little children. They have gone out with nothing but have come back with so much. Through their missionary work they have come to understand God better than those who have spent their entire life learning and studying about him. These so called “little children” have been able to witness the Kingdom of God in the very basic and common things of life such as curing the sick, consoling the afflicted and showing mercy to the marginalised and displaced.  

Unlike the 72 disciples in those days, we are fortunate enough to have an abundance of resources available to us. However, having these resources does not limit us at all to become like the “little children” that our Lord talks about. It is not in the lack of resources that the disciples found joy, but rather in their experience of the work of Jesus. For this reason when we carry out his work, we too will experience this abundant joy. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary who lived in the 13th century was a queen with so much wealth at her disposal. She was well known for spending her wealth on the poor and marginalised and on building hospitals and homes for sick people. However her joy was not in providing the wealth, but in actually looking after the sick and needy. She would personally serve and nurse them to the great dismay of her relatives. She placed her wealth at the service of poverty and she experienced Jesus in her life by being a disciple of mercy. You and I know very well that wealth does not bring about happiness (at best it brings about a false sense of happiness); however placing this wealth and ourselves at the service of Jesus is what brings true happiness.

 In our parish we are very fortunate enough to have many disciples of mercy who spend their days and nights looking after the homeless, the imprisoned and the sick. Just recently, we have established a group called “Heaven on Earth” which carries out works of mercy in our society. They use their own resources to provide for the poor, needy and marginalised. Not only do they bring joy to these people but they find abundant joy in      carrying out the work of Christ. I encourage you to follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ ololheavenonearth) and provide them with any assistance that you can afford