Seeing the Face of Christ in Others. . .The following homily was delivered by Pittsburgh SVDP Executive Director, Deacon Keith Kondrich during the Frederic Ozanam Anniversary Mass celebrated on April 23, 2015 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Carnegie, PA. (Thanks to Larry Huber for drawing attention to this piece from The Society Page – The E-Newsletter of The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Council of Pittsburgh)

In The Gospel of John (8:12-20), Jesus tells us “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

There is a famous Jewish parable that runs something like this:
Once upon a time there was a Rabbi who was old, wise, and very holy. One day he gathered his disciples around him and asked them this question: “When is there enough light in the world?”

The first disciple to speak up was the youngest.  He was confident and brash and looking to impress his peers.  He said: “Rabbi, there is enough light in the world when it is bright enough so that, from a distance, one can see whether a stream of water is moving or standing still.”

“No, that’s not enough light,” the rabbi answered.

The second disciple to answer was a little more mature and gave the question a bit more thought.  He said: “Rabbi, there is enough light in the world when it is bright enough so that one can tell the difference between an oak tree and a sycamore tree.”

“No, that’s still not enough light,” the rabbi replied.

The third disciple to answer was the oldest and wisest after the Rabbi himself.  He said: “Rabbi, there is enough light in the world when it is bright enough so that one can tell a sheep from a goat!”

Again the rabbi replied: “That is still not enough light.”

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