Earlier this year our U.S. Bishops released a pastoral letter titled Open Wide Our Hearts; The Enduring Call to Love. In this letter they show us this call to open wide our hearts comes from Scripture. In the first letter to the Corinthians we read that this love “comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a “we” which overcomes our divisions and makes us one,” By the work of the Holy Spirit, we, the Church, are called to bring this gift of love to the world.
There are many ways we can open wide our hearts. We have just done this recently with our Adopt-a-Family at Christmas, and we do this weekly with our canned food collection. This coming week, in a small way, we are going to help some children who are refugees as they travel from their temporary home in our diocese to their families throughout the U.S. We will be collecting used clothing and toys for them to take to their new homes.
Some of you might not know what a refugee is. A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution or a natural disaster. For whatever reason someone goes to another country it can be a little scary to travel by yourself to a new place and we at Sacred Heart Academy want to do what we can to bring comfort to these children as they travel to their families. We want to be compassionate and understanding to them in this difficult time and do something that can help relieve their suffering. When you go back to your SLE families you will do an activity that will help you to think of what you can share, be it clothes that are too small for you or a toy you no longer play with, to help one of these refugee children here in our diocese.
Before we do this we look to the Holy Family who knows what it was like to be a refugee as we turn to Jesus and pray: O Lord, you who multiplied the loaves so there was more then enough for all, banish from our hearts any fear that there won’t be enough for everyone. Help us to open our hearts to help our refugee friends as we care for our own. Teach us, Jesus, the ways of hospitality. Give us, Jesus, the spirit of joyful welcome. And may these children be safe as they travel in the coming weeks to their new homes. We ask this in your most holy name. Amen.