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Mutual Exchanges What if the rich man would have invited Lazarus to come and eat with him? What would you have? You would have the beginning of the Kingdom of God. I have now accompanied three delegations from my home Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota to the Homa Bay Diocese in western Kenya. "Out of this experience," I told the St. Cloud delegation, "you should have a taste of the kingdom of God." What began mainly as a project-visiting tour, a people-gazing tour, an animal-gazing tour has quickly turned into a mutual sharing experience, with the St. Cloud side getting the better of the exchange. They soon saw themselves as the Lazarus, the poor man, being invited by the Homa Bay Catholics, rich in spirit, to share the meal with them. I think I can truthfully say that to the very last person of the St. Cloud delegations, this was a taste of the kingdom of God. They could not imagine enjoying a two-hour liturgy, nor imagine finding joy and hope in a life situation devastated by AIDS. This diocese-to-diocese program began under the sponsorship of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Bishop John Kinney initiated it in the Diocese of St. Cloud. He was fortunate to have Father William Vos and a good Mission Office staff to organize, manage, and motivate the delegates. To learn more about |
