Recently a newspaper ran a series of articles on Hereos in light of the anniversary of September 11th.
- the Hereos that are being featured are individuals who have come to light as a result of the tragedies on September 11th in New York, Washington and Pennsilvania.
- the Hereos have been Fire Fighters who saved hundred of lives
- the Hereos have been Parents who sheltered their children
- the Hereos have been regular citizens who were in the area & came to the aid of others
- the Hereos were the thousands who donated blood, sent blankets, and even a child who collected Teddy Bears at his school to send to the children who lost a parent.
This special series has shown many tremendous acts of caring, concern, and embracing of the grieving and injured.
The incomprehensible inhumanity of Sept. 11th has resulted in such goodness within the human spirit.
All of the articles stressed one thing - the Call to Serve:
- that here, within the human family a need arose and people responded to the Call to Serve.
- that here, within the human family, people searched for ways to reach out with a God-given love.
- that here, within the human family, people yearned for a way to give sense to a senseless time.
One of the articles, it was the first one, which featured this in a special way, was an article which featured the life of a priest - Father Michael Judge.
- Father Mike was one of the Chaplains of the NY Fire Department.
- his body was among the first to be taken from the reckage of New York
- he was killed as debris fell upon him as he administered the Sacrament of the Sick to a dying Firefighter.
His article spoke of one who was generous, self giving, aware of his God and touched by the love of God in his own life.
These characteristics of being:
- generous, self giving, aware of his God and touched by the love of God in ones own life
these are the characteristics which Amos is trying to get across to his people -in our 1st Reading
Yet Jesus, with the words of Amos firmly in the back of His mind, makes another very relevant point for us today in our Gospel with the story of Lazerus
- He seems to remind his people that we don’t need to let tragedy bring out service in us - but that each of us is called to that Service every day !
We call that - Living the Eucharist
Living the Eucharist is serious business;
▸ We are called to be of Service to one another:
that call to being generous, self giving, aware of his God and touched by the love of God in ones own life
▸ We are called to open the doors of our minds and hearts to those who live the sores of want and loss.
▸ We are called to be Hereos everyday - maybe not the type of Hereos that are featured in articles and series in the Toronto Star
- but Hereos never the less in our homes, workplaces, classrooms and parish
Hereos who live each day tremendous stories of courage
Hereos who serve each day with encouraging stories of faith
Hereos who commit themselves to inspiring stories of God’s grace at work