Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Risking our Lives for God

Today I am thinking about and praying in gratitude for all the people who "risked their necks for me."  They are too numerous to mention, thank God, but I cannot even begin to write without pausing in thanksgiving for everything my parents gave me, and I want to pause today especially because, if they had lived, it would have been their 78th wedding anniversary.

"Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life." Rom 16:3-4

The U.N High Commission on Refugees asserts that there are more than 50 million refugees around the world, the highest figure since the Second World War. It has to be a terrible thing to be torn from one's home by violence, political unrest and war, and it is important to Christians not to turn away from the images and stories of people who have fled their homes and risked their lives crossing oceans and deserts seeking a new home. They are the face of the suffering Christ

At the same time, we need to be grateful for those countless women and men who risk their lives as caregivers and aid workers for the homeless and hungry at home around the world. Catholic Relief Services alone has more than 5000 people working in 93 countries who respond as best they can to more than 100 million people a year. Though we hear little about these heroes, they are the face of the Catholic Church who rarely seek recognition and fame, but reach out for the needy because it is the right thing to do.

Today, take a moment to be grateful for those who risked their lives for you.

Who has risked their lives for you?


No comments:

Post a Comment

Please be discreet in your comments. I will monitor the comments, and only exclude those that are patently offensive.