The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
My roommate is a nurse in the ER, so as you can imagine, she comes home with a lot of different stories and experiences. One morning she came home from working the night shift, and shared that she had cared for three different patients from three different assaults. She recounted there had been some controversial conversations at the nurse’s station about if one victim in particular deserved to be cared for. “This patient brought this upon himself based on his actions, where he was, and the people he was with” one nurse argued, “he doesn’t deserve the care these other innocent victims do!” My roommate responded, “I disagree. It’s not my job to decide if my patients are deserving. It’s my job to care for them.”
Today we read in Revelation about “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” praising God. Sometimes I forget that God wants all of His children to be with Him in Heaven- not just the people I like and get along with, who practice their faith exactly as I do, and who I think are deserving of His love and mercy.
On the Solemnity of All Saints we are prompted to look to the multitude of saints, “from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” The variety of nationalities, vocations, socioeconomic status, and personalities of the saints is not only a great witness to us that we ourselves can become saints, but we can also have hope and rejoice that lots of other people, with different backgrounds, faith expressions and sinful pasts, can also become saints and join the Eternal Party.
This week, let’s set aside our preconceived notions of who is worthy and deserving of our love, care, and kindness, and just allow Jesus to care for them through us. This could look like saying hello and giving food to the person on the street, regardless of how he got there or how he spends his time. Or we could lend a hand to our co-worker, despite the fact she is rude and negative and impatient with others.
Holy Spirit, please help us to surrender our ideas about who is deserving of Your love and our care. Help us to see others as You see them, and give us an opportunity this week to practice unconditional love and care for one of Your children.
Catherine Huss is a fashion designer in Southern California, and spends her free time playing pickleball, writing, and chatting with a latte in hand. Her favorite conversations combine Jesus and the modern experiences of fashion, relationships, and pop culture. Follow her most recent adventure designing swimwear at Siena and Co.
