She asked me again “Am I or am I not my brother’s keeper” I responded “No doubt about it, we all are. “ This is all part of God’s plan. We are asked to look after those who need help.

This is particularly true for those who have taken their gifts and multiplied them a hundredfold. We all have the simple task to help those less fortunate than we. Pope Francis not only preaches this message, but he shows us exactly how it is done!

On his birthday Pope Francis invited the homeless who beg for food around the Vatican walls to join him for a his birthday breakfast. Pope Francis tells us over and over again that before all else , persons matter, and the poor and needy are at the top of the list.

When he spoke to students at a Jesuit school last June , he said “Today the person counts for nothing, it is coins, it is money that counts. And Jesus, God, gave the world, the whole creation, to the person, to men and women that they might care for it; he did not give it to money.”

Christ too, cured the lame, the blind, the deaf and then turned to the crowds and said. “Go to the ends of the earth and help others.” Each of us finds the ends of the earth right where we live, and it is here that we look out for those still lame, blind, deaf,

As followers we don’t judge how the unfortunate got the way they are or even what they will do with the money or alms we give them. Jesus didn’t say only help those if we are absolutely certain what they are going to do with the money or gift we give. That’s not what a disciples of Jesus does.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus simply says “ I don’t want to send them away hungry. How many loaves and fish do you have.” And then Jesus shows them how we are to feed them. He simply multiplied what he had. And it worked.

Think about this as we move around in the part of the kingdom where we live. If we give, no matter how many times, it multiplies in the sharing. And we will always have enough to do more. In this way we are the keeper of all our brothers and sisters and Pope Francis will be happy to have our assistance.