Reflections

Matthew 9: 35-38

"Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,

teaching in their synagogues,

proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,

and curing every disease and illness.

At the sight of the crowds,

His heart was moved with pity for them

because they were troubled and abandoned,

like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples,

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;

So ask the master of the harvest

to send out laborers for his harvest”. 

*Special gospel reading selected by Bishop Barry Knestout to commemorate the feast day of Saint Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia on September 27, 2020.

“And the darkness has not over come it.” 

When encountering the friends we serve, we are reminded of our own call to spiritual poverty. In a world full of distractions, this becomes a challenge. 

Jesus, the Savior of the world from the effects of original sin, took on this poverty. From the moment of His birth in a Bethlehem stable to his death on Calvary, we see a correlation between Kingdom and spiritual poverty. 

This Christmas, let us focus on developing a spirit poverty, so that like Jesus we may shine light onto the darkness of the world. 

Because like the words of John the Apostle,
It is through spiritual poverty, or darkness, that light and true wealth of soul are attained. We find this with the friends we serve and are humbled to walk with them.