{"id":721,"date":"2015-02-15T05:00:53","date_gmt":"2015-02-15T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=721"},"modified":"2015-02-15T05:00:53","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T05:00:53","slug":"whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gospel reading for today (Mk 1:40-45), the last Sunday before Lent begins, provides a direct link to what Pope Francis discusses in his Message for Lent 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the title of the Message is \u201cMake Your Hearts Firm,\u201d Francis writes from his greatest concern over a \u201cglobalization of indifference. \u2026 a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.\u201d The whole salvation message, that Jesus came, was incarnate, lived, breathed, taught, and healed, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose from the dead, leads us to believe that God is not indifferent to us and to our world.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s Gospel reading, a man with leprosy essentially says to Jesus, \u201cif you care, you can make a difference in my life.\u201d Jesus was not indifferent; he was moved with pity and reached out his hand \u2013 a movement of caring, compassion, personal risk, and desire to make a difference in the life of another person. \u201cChristians are those who let God clothe them with goodness and mercy, with Christ, so as to become, like Christ, servants of God and others.\u201d (n. 1)<\/p>\n

\"indifference3\"<\/a>The world is big, her problems are many, and with so much information instantly available to us, it can be overwhelming. \u201cWhat difference can I make?\u201d I ask myself. As I write this, it is snowing yet again. Each individual snowflake might seem insignificant, but the combined effect of the snowflakes makes mountains of snow \u2013 stops traffic, bends trees, and sags roofs \u2013 and who is to say that it isn\u2019t just one more snowflake that would cause the tree or roof to break? While the effects of snow might be destructive (if not merely inconvenient!) it provides a good example of the impact of the efforts of each of us. We make a difference every time we choose to act with intentionality \u2013 with compassion.<\/p>\n

The call to Consecrated Persons this year is to live the present with passion.<\/em> Passion is as far from indifferent as one can get! In this Lenten Message, Pope Francis says, \u201chow greatly I desire that all those places where the Church is present, especially our parishes and our communities, may become islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference!\u201d (n. 2)<\/p>\n

How do I witness the indifference of society? Do I feel that my efforts are of no use and fall into the safety of indifference? \u201cAs individuals too, we are tempted by indifference. Flooded with new reports and troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness?\u201d Pope Francis asks (n. 3). With this question, he offers us three answers:<\/p>\n