At Hand

January 7, 2013

Monday after Epiphany

We receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.  And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.  Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us. 1 John3:22-24

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Matthew 4:17

Piety

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What is truth?"

(From the lyrics to "What is Truth?" by Johnny Cash)

Study

The letter from John warns us to be on guard for evil spirits.  We will know they are evil if they betray the true Spirit passed on by Christ. 

Our pursuit of the truth is like our pursuit of the Kingdom of heaven.  We are constantly seeking.  Or at least we are asked to be constant seekers.

As we continue our Christmas celebration, we are asked to seek like the shepherds, like the magi, like the Holy family.  We are asked to seek like Zechariah and Elizabeth and like Simeon and Anna. 

There are false seekers surrounding us -- seekers like Herod who epitomizes the slogan, "So what? Who cares? What's in it for me?"  When the power and comfort of Herod is threatened, he protects what is his by slaughtering the babies under two years old.   

Action

We, however, are asked to pose the question, "What's in it for others? 

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development has published a calendar to mark Poverty Awareness Month.  Coming out of the holiday season, the media attention on health and human services as well as charity will fade back to normal levels.

You can keep the fire of awareness burning by reviewing the suggested actions on the calendar at this site and then printing a copy to keep visible as you go about your daily business this month.

http://www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/povertyusa/upload/poverty-awareness-month-calendar.pdf?utm_source=GradNet+01-04-13&utm_campaign=GradNet+12-21-12&utm_medium=email