Here's an interesting piece that an Eastern-Rite Catholic friend posted on Philip's Fast, a partial fast not unlike Lent; folks are supposed to go meatless on MWF in Advent leading up to Christmas.
This passage towards the end of the essay struck me as timely as folks on the right come to grips with four more years of the old man born a day before me.
To worthily meet our Lord and Savior, we should sanctify this pre-Nativity season of the Phillipian Fast. Sanctifying means spending our time in faith and in the service of God and in kindness towards our neighbor, especially those who are in need of our assistance. And we should think of what we would have been had Christ not come to our lowliness and poverty.
Kindness should start with recognizing the humanity of folks in need, rather than treating them as bums and wetbacks. Even if we don't want to open up Washington's pocketbook and raiding our paychecks a bit more, being charitable in our rhetoric in debates on immigration policy and government programs will make our discussions less toxic and more godly.
Opening up our own pocketbooks (and giving of our time) to help the needed wouldn't hurt, but charity should also begin with our tongue and written verbiage.
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