Love God, Love Neighbor
Jesus is crystal clear: We have to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind; and we have to love our neighbor as ourselves. All the law and prophets can be summed up in this two-fold commandment. I have been asking myself, what does it mean to love God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind I think it might mean loving what God loves. What does God love? We get a sense of this in the first reading: God loves the underdog. God loves the widow and orphan. For when these least ones cry out to God, God hears their cry.
This past week we saw something at the courts we have never seen before. Our F.A.I.T.H. volunteers were asked to accompany two Haitian children, one ten years old, and the other nine years old, who had to show up for immigration court. Their parents were too afraid to enter the federal building. I am pretty sure that God was right there with them, and that God is hearing the cry of them and of their parents. These could be considered modern day orphans, young children whose parents fear detention or deportation, or whose parents are, in fact, detained or deported. God is with them. And we have to be with them, too. We have to love what and whom God loves. In this way, the two commandments become one. Because to love God with all our heart means to love what and whom God loves.
One new way our parish is loving our neighbor is by taking in migrants who have been recently released from the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Some of these folks are local, and their families pick them up. But others have been transported here from places in Maryland, Montana, Virginia, etc. Some compassionate volunteers have been putting them in hotels for one night while they arrange their flights home. They asked us if we would take them in. So, we did. Each night, Monday through Friday, we receive up to 10 migrants at the Pope Francis Center. We are grateful to parishioners who provide sandwiches, wash sheets, and clean their rooms. To love God means to love our neighbor. We have to love what God loves.
This past week we saw something at the courts we have never seen before. Our F.A.I.T.H. volunteers were asked to accompany two Haitian children, one ten years old, and the other nine years old, who had to show up for immigration court. Their parents were too afraid to enter the federal building. I am pretty sure that God was right there with them, and that God is hearing the cry of them and of their parents. These could be considered modern day orphans, young children whose parents fear detention or deportation, or whose parents are, in fact, detained or deported. God is with them. And we have to be with them, too. We have to love what and whom God loves. In this way, the two commandments become one. Because to love God with all our heart means to love what and whom God loves.
One new way our parish is loving our neighbor is by taking in migrants who have been recently released from the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Some of these folks are local, and their families pick them up. But others have been transported here from places in Maryland, Montana, Virginia, etc. Some compassionate volunteers have been putting them in hotels for one night while they arrange their flights home. They asked us if we would take them in. So, we did. Each night, Monday through Friday, we receive up to 10 migrants at the Pope Francis Center. We are grateful to parishioners who provide sandwiches, wash sheets, and clean their rooms. To love God means to love our neighbor. We have to love what God loves.
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Thank you for your ongoing support!
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The Diocese of San Diego takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and addresses them promptly, confidentially, and with integrity. To report any incident of sexual misconduct, please contact the Victim Assistance Coordinator.
Criminal abuse that is reported or suspected is reported to law enforcement in accordance with civil law.
Criminal abuse that is reported or suspected is reported to law enforcement in accordance with civil law.
Mary Acosta
Office for Child and Youth Protection, Safe Environment & Victim Assistance