Others

 Dear Friends,

We have made it through Lent, whatever your lenten sacrifices were, planned and unplanned, expected and unexpected. This is Holy Week. We are preparing ever more urgently for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In the Catholic church, we have Holy Thursday - a beautiful evening of prayer around Jesus' last meal - a Seder meal that we share with our Jewish cousins. It is a time to reflect on Christ's last days and conversations he had with friends, always acting to fulfill his purpose here on earth.

We have a purpose too. This week I invite you to turn your focus outward. We have thought and rethought about who we are, what we need, what we want, and now we turn to others. What gifts do we have that we can share with others? Our world is so hungry, so in need of our love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and our mission. How can we feed them? 

St. Ignatius called us to be people 'for and with others'. What does that mean to you? Who are you for? Who are you with? I think about mothers first and foremost. Mothers in Nashville come to mind first. I am very much for them, but how can I be with them? I plan to read more about how to contribute to let them know they aren't alone. Mothers in Camden are also on my mind. How can I be with them? I can give to them, I can pray, but is that enough? 

When I was in college we had a program called Reading to Kids, where we went into shelters and read to the kids in the evenings. I know it was appreciated. The moms got a break and could trust that their kids were cared for, just for an hour or so. It has been on my mind lately. Maybe I'm being called to do something like that again. 

What is calling you this week? Who can you focus on? Maybe it's someone close to you, or maybe it's someone outside your circle. We receive God's love and we share it, showering it on others.