In our Gospel today Jesus speaks of “a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.” And
laying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus. This rich man we are told did nothing to help poor Lazarus. Yet he knew his name, so
he must have known about him. Who are the poor among us today? Is it a financial poor or spiritually poor?

If there were no poor among us, we would have no need for a local food shelf. We do have the need for a local food shelf. A food shelf
without support would not be able to keep going. I know some of our parishioners volunteer over at the food shelf, helping in many
ways. We support the local food shelf by your bringing in food on Sunday. The need is not just at Thanksgiving time, it is year round, so
please keep bringing in those food donations. It can be a great way to teach your children how to have a giving heart. Teaching them
that we not only give the Lima Beans, but also the Macaroni and Cheese.

Violence in our world is growing all the time. So recently close to home, both with Jacob Wetterling and now with this most recent
attack at the Crossroads Mall in St Cloud. It would be easy to turn to fear or hate. Those are natural responses. Yet, we should be
turning to our faith. Praying for those who were there and directly impacted. Caring for our own loved ones. We need to be praying for
our Country, both nationally and locally. Pray that the Lord will be known by all and that we will once again become a caring nation.

Here are a few little things that can have BIG impacts on those around us.

-Tell your spouse you love them. Saying it can mean a lot.
-Hug your kids, let them know you love them and care about them.
-Smile and say hello to a stranger.
-Hold the door for someone.

There are unlimited ways that we can reach out to one another and share the LOVE of Christ. In these ways we can see the poor man at
our gate.

We have a choice to make Love or Hate. Fear or Faith. The choice is ours. Maybe we need to bring back the WWJD bracelets. What
would Jesus Do? How would Jesus respond to our world today?

Fr Backer