Fratelli Tutti, Chap. 3: Envisaging and Engendering an Open World

Happy Second Sunday of Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The quote from Acts is a picture of the early Apostolic Christian community. We don’t know how typical it was or how long it lasted, but it provides a good bridge back to Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’ plea for those who own to make radical decisions to care for those who need.

In chapter three of Fratelli Tutti, “Envisaging and Engendering an Open World”, the Pope quotes St John Chrysostom, “Not to share our wealth with the poor is to rob them and take away their livelihood. The riches we possess are not our own but theirs as well.”

The Pope dreams of a world where those who are skilled in organizing and producing recognize that their abilities are a gift from God and direct their skills “to the development of others and to eliminating poverty.”

The source of the problem is our own hearts, where we believe that we are the source of creation:

Radical individualism makes us believe that everything consists in giving free rein to our own ambitions, as if by pursuing ever greater ambitions and creating safety nets we would somehow be serving the common good.

Ministry Opportunities
Victoria Ries has volunteered to continue the garden in support of St. Mary’s Food Bank! Yea!!! But she needs your help. If you’re interested, contact her at victoria.ries@comcast.net.

We need someone with a modest familiarity with computers to help Nicole run our livestream equipment. Although we are now celebrating two Masses on Sunday, we still are at less than capacity, and many parishioners are still staying away because the COVID danger is still with us. The livestream is our best way to keep our parish vibrant. If you are able to watch Mass on your computer, you are computer-savvy enough to help. Contact Nicole at nicoles@st-therese.cc.

Ellie Wakefield (a Garfield junior and parishioner) is seeking help to make lunches for the Matt Talbot Center (see page 5.) The goal is to provide 30 lunches once a month for the center. She needs three volunteers to make ten lunches each and drop them off at the house of a fourth volunteer who would then drive them downtown to the Matt Talbot Center. Depending on how many people sign up, you may only need to volunteer once every 3-4 months. If you are interested, contact Ellie at ellieawake@gmail.com. (My all-time favorite email address!)

For you newcomers, the MTC ministers to individuals who want to recover from addiction. It was engendered by the Holy Spirit at the same 1981 Cursillo retreat where the Gospel Choir was rooted and is led by former St. Therese parishioner Greg Alex.

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