Pastor's Spiritual Reflections

By Fr. Leo Schneider (2/15/2009)

Dear People of Holy Name,

Some of you may remember Bishop Sheen who was a writer and speaker around the country. He even had his own television show where his flamboyant style of teaching attracted many. I remember reading in one of his books his experience of meeting someone with leprosy. He was repelled at first and did not touch the leper, but later realized what he had done and reached out his hand to touch the man with the unsightly disease. Bishop Sheen realized he could not claim to live like Christ if he was not willing to touch those he would touch?

If we claim to be Christ’s disciples we too must be willing to reach out and make a difference in the lives of people we would rather not ‘touch.’ To reach out, our comfort zones and prejudices will need to be overcome. Instead of hiding behind anger and judgment, we will need to find understanding and compassion and be willing to enter the lives of those we would otherwise shun.

When we do reach out we are rewarded. We realize the ‘other’ person is just that, a person. They have a story that has something to teach us, if not only to remind us how blessed we have been. It is through personal meeting that enemies become friends, and when that happens, comfort zones and prejudices change and our hearts find peace, as we are no longer agitated by what is different from ourselves. As a parish we are involved in different out-reach programs directly and indirectly. Our recent H2O Project was a reaching out and our communal response is evidence that our faith is real when so many are willing to sacrifice and give. Reaching out is evidence of real faith, it is also the goal of our Evangelization program. As our relationship with the Lord grows, we become like him and as his disciples, bringing his love and healing to the world.

Today’s gospel makes us ask ourselves how we are reaching out and bringing the Lord’s healing to others. I believe we all are, but it also inspires us to ask how we might bring the Lord to those others in our lives for whom we haven’t thought about being Christ. Each of us have different gifts and personalities and can give to others in a way others cannot. We need to believe in God’s presence in us and allow ourselves to reach beyond our comfort zones in big and little ways.

Reaching out could be listening to someone else and hearing their heart in their story and responding to them in a genuine and caring way. Valuing the people who help us at checkout counters and wait on us in restaurants could be another. Visiting the sick or being kind to the grumpy could be others. As we live our faith as an expression of the tremendous love we share with Jesus Christ, we will find ways to reach out with joyful hearts. In doing so we will be blessed and our circle of comfort and our willingness to reach out to all will grow.

Let us pray for the gift of a dynamic and living relationship with Jesus. Let us let him touch us and heal us that we may do the same for others. Such is our call, may such be God’s grace in our lives!

In Christ’s peace, Fr. Leo