Today is the memorial of St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). In the first reading, Moses tells the Israelites to remain faithful to God before and after settling in the Promised Land. They are to do this by loving God with all their heart, soul, and strength, and to repeat this commandment to their children so that they do not forget the Lord who liberated them from slavery in Egypt.
We too are expected to love God and to repeat (preach) to others how God’s love has freed us and continues to free us from different kinds of enslavement. However, we cannot effectively preach about love merely with words. Simple acts of love such as one beggar sharing bread with another beggar are more effective homilies in a world where people do not feel free due to poverty, injustice, discrimination, and addictions. Love without deeds is dead!
—Fr. Lawrence Kyaligonza, S.J., a Jesuit of the East Africa province, just completed MBA studies at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.