When I was a kid, there was still hostility between Catholics and non-Catholics — including among the kids in my neighborhood. In next Sunday’s Gospel, a scholar asks Jesus: Which is the greatest commandment? Jesus builds his answer on passages in Hebrew Scripture and replies: “Love the Lord … with all your heart … and your neighbor as yourself.” It has been a blessing of my life to see the recognition of our Protestant brethren as our neighbors in the decades after Vatican II. October 31 is the 500th anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 theses on the cathedral door, the event which began the Protestant Reformation. Just as we have angry voices in our church, some Lutherans still fear and distrust the Catholic Church and its Pope and say dark things about us. But for the most part, dialogues over the last 50 years have brought people and leaders of the two great churches together around word, worship and service. Let’s pray with and for our neighbors in the Lutheran churches this week!
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
Well said, Sr. Mary.