Fr. Mike Cassell is a close friend of mine. His work among the poor and prisoners is exemplary. I got to know Fr. Mike when he stayed with me in Okeechobee while he worked on several retreats, organized by Kairos, at the maximum security prison.

Fr. Hugh Duffy

The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25:36ff

As an Episcopal priest of fifty two years, I feel specially blessed to be able to serve for the past eleven years the destitute of the Caribbean in seventeen nations; priests, religious, and missionaries who give their lives in service to them.

The face of our Lord is seen in various ways; when two or three gather in his name; in the blessed sacrament of his body and blood and in the proclamation of his word. But he also assures us we meet him most powerfully in the destitute and broken in our world.

“I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me…” St. Matt. 25:36 ff.

Our Lord’s focus is on this world in which we are here and now. He prays, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. His emphasis is on the earth. Heaven above is doing quite well, thank you very much. It is on the earth that we serve in preparation for eternity. A religion that is totally other worldly is no earthly good. I want a religion that touches life now.

The kingdom of heaven proclaimed in all of Jesus’ parables is not so much “pie in the sky when we die bye and bye” but a world where we bend our efforts to making our earth a place suitable for human habitation; where the lion and the lamb dwell together, and all are fed and are full at the supper of the lamb. This is the kingdom of heaven already begun.

Just like Jesus, you and I are committed to serve the poor. Indeed it is our Lord’s primary focus and, as such, it must be ours as well. Even the rich young ruler was told to sell what he had and give it away to the poor.

St James said, “Faith without works is dead”. That is, we need “less talkie talkie and more doie doie.” Put our lives on the line for our Lord by serving him in the poor, in our parishes, and in individual lives.

In the acts of serving one another, we shall be as close as one can get to the heart of Christ.

Fr. Mike Cassell