THURSDAY II LENT: Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread

Posted on March 9, 2023 by franksantucci

There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. (Lk. 16:19-20)

I worry little about the infinitely small number of bourgeois people who have not yet shown any sign of good will… In any case, their souls are not worth more or less than those of the least peasants, if we consider them in terms of the price the Lord has paid for them.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 28 February 1837, EO IX n 606

REFLECTION

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our brothers and sisters throughout the world, who live and die in poverty and hunger.

Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.

Make us, Lord, worthy to serve our brothers and sisters, scattered all over the world, who live and die alone and poor.

Give them today, using our hands, their daily bread and, using our love, give them peace and happiness. Amen.

daily-prayers.org/jesus-life-stories-2/parable-of-the-rich-man-and-lazarus-2/

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1 Response to THURSDAY II LENT: Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate says:
    March 9, 2023 at 12:32

    I look at the Gospel and the story of the rich man who was condemned it to hell – with no possibility of redemption. And I think of how Jesus when he died descended into hell to raise up all those who were waiting to be saved and redeemed…

    A new covenant, a new way of seeing and being. Even Eugene worries not about the bourgeois people whose souls he says are not worth more or less than those of the least peasants – if we look at them in terms of the price the Lord has paid for them.

    Here we find the Lord’s Prayer being carried to a different level, or perhaps into a new light.

    This past week, one of our own was named for an abhorrent crime against others which took place many years ago. I know him – not well but with love to call him my brother. I cried when I heard the news – for those he had harmed and their families – and I cried for him who carried that horrible secret within him. Now it is brought into the light and a new freedom.

    I feel this morning as if everything is being turned inside out and upside down. Some of my friends would judge me to be insane or just stupid if they were to learn of my tears. Another way of standing at the foot of the cross? I don’t know.

    “Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.” A new way of living what I have been shown…

    Reply

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