Pastor’s Corner for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year, by Fr. Bruce Botha SJ
An Invitation to Love
Caritas can be translated as “charity”, or as “Christian love of humanity”, but I think a far more practical definition would be “love in action”. Love in action is something we do because we are people of faith, people who believe that our faith determines how we love, who we love, the choices we make and the values we live by. As a pastor I am proud of the work we do as a community and am humbled by the dedication of so many of you.
In James 2, verses 14 – 22, we hear the following:
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”
I am inviting all of those who would like to contribute to the “love in action” of our parish to a meeting on Sunday, 4 September, at 11 am in the church.
This includes those who want to minister to the poor and homeless; migrants and refugees; and the LGBTQ+ community. It also includes those who are passionate about Justice and Peace and the Care of Creation. All of those who respond to this invitation to love will together form our parish Caritas Forum. Individual members will then take on various projects and responsibilities, depending on their particular interests and passion, supported by the rest of the Caritas Forum. Starting anything new can be daunting, but it is so much easier when we do it with others.
Fr Bruce Botha SJ