Daily Meditation for November 27, 2023

Pope Francis once said, “You pray for the hungry and then you feed them. This is how prayer works.” In this month of Thanksgiving, may we make our prayers “work” by finding ways to feed the hungry in whatever form their hunger appears.  There is, of course, stomach hunger, experienced by the homeless and those who live in poverty. There is also emotional hunger, sometimes called “heart hunger,” experienced by the lonely, the lost, the rejected, and the marginalized. How often do we pass by someone who looks, acts, dresses or lives differently than we do? When we turn away from those we don’t understand, we often lose an opportunity to enrich our own lives. As we approach the Advent season, may we be more aware of the opportunities to feed he hungry in whatever form their hunger takes. We might be surprised at how that action feeds us as well.

By Mary Weidner, OSB