PROJECT COMPASSION WEEK 3

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – Week 3 Zimbabwe
11 March

John 2: 13-25

In today’s Gospel we hear of Jesus’ forceful reaction to the abuse of the temple – his Father’s house – by the traders and moneychangers. Jesus’ dramatic cleansing of the temple is the sign of God’s action in the world. The wrong he observed moved Him to action.

This week’s Project Compassion story comes from Zimbabwe, where because of prolonged conflict and drought, thousands of people remain displaced and peace is fragile. With the additional burden of HIV-related illness, and the stigma that accompanies it, Colletta and her family, like many others, were reduced to extreme poverty.

In partnership with Caritas Australia, the local church is working to improve life for those who struggle under these conditions. Health care, sanitation, agricultural improvement and peace-building programs are having their effects.  The community is being healed as poverty, illness and trauma are gradually being driven out.

Although we do not have the same knowledge of the human heart or the authority to act that Jesus had, we can, nevertheless, detect injustice and, in righteous indignation, as Jesus did, take forceful action against it.

We can show our solidarity with communities living in poverty, our compassion to those struggling against discrimination and stigma and our preparedness to challenge injustice. As Pope Benedict XVI said: “Our hearts cannot be at peace as long as we see our brothers and sisters suffering”.

If we want peace, we must work for justice.

Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.