Today’s Scripture readings offer explicit directions for Christian behavior.

The final two verses of the passage from Leviticus say this:

You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

No matter how terrible one’s actions, the Lord commands us not to hate that person. How often do we hear, “Hate the sin, love the sinner”? Can we separate a seemingly intolerable action from the perpetrator who is our brother or sister and created in the image of God?

Catholic Charities agencies and other Catholic social service providers land squarely in the middle of today’s Gospel:

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.

There are some today who attack the Catholic Church for fulfilling this basic commandment from Jesus, especially as it relates to those seeking to enter our country in search of personal safety or improved economic conditions for themselves and their families.

In response, Catholic Charities USA, the USCCB, and the Catholic Health Association issued this statement:

…Through our parishes, shelters, hospitals, schools, and other Church institutions, we recognize that (human) dignity is not dependent on a person’s citizenship or immigration status. Moreover, the charitable services we provide are fundamental to who we are as Christians. “For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being” (Deus caritas est, no. 25)….

The services of Catholic Charities agencies are a fundamental expression of Christian love. And today’s Scripture remind us that we’re commanded to share that love with everyone. Including our detractors.

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Br. Steve Herro is a religious brother of St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere (Wisc.).  A past Catholic Charities USA staff member, he currently serves as a trained spiritual director, archivist, Shrine acting director, and blogger on the intersection of our Catholic faith and current events.