Last year our St. Francis Medical Mission to Belize included two doctors, four dentists, a chiropractor, and a diabetes nurse. We also had two Lions Club members who did eye screenings and offered both prescription lenses and sunglasses, all collected in the U.S. Over the six days in clinic we saw and treated over 1000 people. But each case was sadder than the last. We treated a woman who was blind from diabetes along with her daughter who was deaf and mute, likely from a childhood disease left untreated. We helped a crippled man who had lived for 6 years with a spinal injury and simply wanted some relief from his suffering. Our dentists had to extract rotten teeth from children who had never seen a dentist. We ended each workday with dinner and Mass at the rustic retreat center where we stayed. It was then that we could reflect on the day in the light of the Scriptures. The Jewish scribes had knowledge of the law and could draft legal documents and contracts. One of them asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. When Jesus responded with “love of God and love of neighbor”, the scribe affirmed his answer, but added something. He said to Jesus: “You are right in saying that God is One and there is no other … to love him with all your heart, your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus heard this, he said “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:28-34) To love God by loving our neighbor is more important than all of our rituals and sacrifices. When I heard this passage, I knew that these missionaries too are not far from the Kingdom of God. – – – Fr. Jim