By: Father Pinto Paul, C.S.C. on August 19th, 2022

Come Alive! Family Reflection Video

Love thy Neighbor | Return to the Church

"I was a neurotic for years. Anxious, depressed, selfish. And everyone kept telling me to change.

And I resented them, and agreed with them, and wanted to change, but simply couldn't, no matter how I tried.

What hurt the most was that, like the others, my closest friend kept urging me to change.
So I felt powerless and trapped.

One day, he said, 'Don't change. I love you as you are.'

Those words were music to my ears: 'Don't change. Don't change. Don’t change ... I love you as you are.'

I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly, I changed.

Now I know that I couldn't really change till I found someone to love me whether I changed or not.

Is this how you love me, God?"

(From The Song of the Bird, by Jesuit priest, Anthony de Mello, S.J.)

Today we heard in the first reading God tells Ezekiel to prophesize to a field of dry bones: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ... so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel obeys and then hears rattling bones coming together. Still, the Spirit is not in them. Ezekiel then speaks the Word, and suddenly the dry bones come alive.

In today's Gospel, Jesus is asked by the “dry-boned” Sadducees, "Which commandment of the law is greatest?" And He responds by quoting the Old Testament law of love: First, "You shall love the Lord your God," and second, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." For Jesus Christ, love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. He loves them all just as they are.

In our families and communities, we are called to be God’s instruments to love others as they are and speak life into dry bones through our love and Word of God. We can encourage those around us going through dryness or difficulties in their life by loving them as they are and then letting God do the rest.

God will bring them to life. They will come alive!

Father Pinto's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)

To view Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am EDT, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)

About Father Pinto Paul, C.S.C.

Father Pinto Paul C.S.C., ordained a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1999, worked with tribal populations in northeast India as a missionary for ten years. In 2010 he came to the US for further studies. While working as a campus minister at Stonehill College, he assisted pastors in local parishes, led seminars and workshops for teachers and students in the US and earned a master’s degree in Educational Administration from Boston College and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Lesley University, Cambridge. He is currently working as the International Director of the Boston-based Holy Cross Family Ministries with missions in 18 countries.