Christian community:
Sharing God's gifts with others

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Susan Gagliardi

This Sunday's first reading caught my attention, because not long ago, my friend, Jack Koczela, quoted it to me: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common."

I was talking to Jack about moving out of the dorms next year into a house with other Christian women, and I happened to mention having to buy my own food, rather than eating resident hall food. Jack said, "You should have communal food." That means we'd pool our money into a food fund and purchase groceries together. Then it wouldn't be my food or her food, but our food.

Jack was really enthusiastic about this. He lives with a group of Christian men in the Newman House and helps host the Newman Dinner every Thursday night. He says this simple sharing of food makes the community he lives in, his "community of believers," one in heart in small things, which leads them to be one in heart about much greater things.

Second Sunday of Easter (April 23, 2006) Acts 4:32-35 Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Jn 5:1-6 Jn 20:19-31

They don't regard food as their own, but share it commonly with members of the household, and every Thursday night, with 40 to 80 others.

In my own life, food is really important. I love food, and I often find myself hoarding "my food" to myself. I get crabby when I'm hungry and possessive of my food. Or, if I do share with others, it's only with the hope that they'll do the same for me some other time.

With all that said, I've been thinking a lot about what Jack told me and this whole Bible passage. College is a time when money is scarce, but it's also a time when we need to learn how to be generous with the little we have. My dad always tells me that God will not be outdone in generosity.

Next year, I will be embarking on a new journey. For the first time in my life, I'll have my own possessions - not just those that my parents have provided. I will be living with people who share my faith, but are not my family.

	Reflection questions • What is it in my life that I am a bit possessive about, and in what way can I let it go, even if just a little? • Have I surrounded myself with a loving Christian community that will challenge me and help me grow towards God? If I haven't, can I begin to do so?

How successful will we be in living like the apostles of old? They had the example of Christ in the flesh to follow. We have the Word of God, the gift of the Spirit, and the promise from Christ for His special graces because we have not seen, yet have believed.

Let us meditate on thanking God for the gifts He has given us and be able to see these gifts not for ourselves alone, but for the benefit of all.

Susan Gagliardi is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined St. Paul University Catholic Center on her first day on campus. She attends daily Mass, participates in a small group Bible study, Taize, Alpha Omega, Newman Dinner, and the Liturgy Committee.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell The church is a community of sharing, a body of believers committed to caring for the poor. True charity ought to be effective, and it requires getting close to the poor, Pope John Paul II taught. God cares for the poor in a special way. Therefore, his friends and covenant partners do likewise. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   The church's "tradition of charity" has been expressed "in so many different ways" over time, and today "even greater resourcefulness" is called for, Pope John Paul II said at the outset of the new millennium. He called for a "new 'creativity' in charity." The pope said that in addition to poverty's "traditional forms," there are newer forms that even affect "financially affluent" people. He spoke of people "threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination." The late pope discussed "creativity in charity" again in a 2002 homily in Poland. He asked people to becoming lovingly aware of the neighbor by their side who -- "because of the loss of work, home, the possibility of maintaining his family in a decent manner and of educating his children -- feels a sense of abandonment, of being lost, of distrust." Creativity in charity, the pope added, "is needed to provide material and spiritual assistance to neglected children; to refrain from turning one's back on the boy or girl who has gotten lost in the world of addiction or crime; to give advice, consolation, spiritual support to those engaged in an internal struggle with evil." full story   A "new creativity in charity" By Kenneth R. Himes, OFM Catholic News Service One hallmark of Christianity is a concern for the poor and the centrality of charity as a virtue. From the church's earliest days, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, down to the modern era, as seen in the works of Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services, there has been a clear, strong acknowledgment that the church is a community of sharing, a body of believers committed to caring for the poor. full story  The amazingly generous poor By Daniel S. Mulhall Catholic News Service When I was about 8, I wanted and expected a baseball glove for my birthday like my two older brothers each received on their birthdays. Instead, I received an envelope with two $1 bills inside. I was heartbroken. full story  The church and the poor in the Bible By Father Lawrence Boadt, CSP Catholic News Service The Bible expresses God's special concern for the "poor," who include three kinds of individuals: --Those who lack enough food, money or property. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: What do you think "the world" needs to know -- understand -- about the poor?     Selected Response From Readers:
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