Reflection
Our faith propels us toward caring for one another and scripture commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Somewhere along the way instead of centering our commitment to care for our neighbors, we began pitting ourselves against one another. Instead of striving for unity and the common good, we began using one another as stepping stones to get to the next rung of the ladder. In our own insulated neighborhoods we lost the recognition that we depend on one another. When we allow borders and fences, zip codes and railroad tracks to physically, socially, and spiritually divide us, it becomes easy to pit one person against another. When we lose sight of the people around us it becomes easy to categorize “the others” struggles as aproblem not worth fixing. We forget that what affects one of us affects all of us.
Adapted from Sr. Ellis McCulloh,HM
Prayer
A new commandment I give you. As I have loved you, love one another.
John 13:24
Action
How can you move outside your usual boundaries and build autrhentic relationships with those who are different from you? How can you help to break steriotypes and prejudices in your own circle?
Suggested Reading
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Galatians 5:14
As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
John 13:35
The grave danger is to disown our neighbors. When we do it we deny their humanity and our own humanity without realizing it;we deny ourselves and we deny the most important commandments of Jesus.
Pope Francis
I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?
Mother Teresa
The only way we will love our neighbor as ourselves is by getting to know our neighbors, even in the midst of our differences.
Eric Overby
The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.
Martin Luther King Jr,
The efforts spent on defending our turf in the culture wars could be better served on loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Allen Yeh
You can be a follower of Muhammad or Jesus or Buddha or whomever. Always, they said that the most essential factor is to love your neighbor.
Leo Buscaglia
A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.
Richard Whately
What you must do is love your neighbor as yourself. There is no one who knows your many faults better than you! But you love yourself notwithstanding. And so you must love your neighbor, no matter how many faults you see in him.
Martin Buber