“Give us each day our daily bread…” (Lk 11:3) In the Sunday Gospel reflection for July 27 from the University of Notre Dame‘s FaithND podcast and email newsletter, James Luk, a Notre Dame alum who served with our missioners in El Paso, reflects on how the witness of Maryknoll Lay Missioners—serving migrants with compassion, humility, and hope—helped him see this prayer in action.
After graduation, James spent time alongside our missioners serving newly arrived migrants seeking safety at the U.S.-Mexico border.
James writes:
“Today’s passage in Luke reminds me of my experience finding hope in faith amid the complexity and brokenness at the border. This simple prayer reminds me to enter a dialogue of grace with everyone I encounter because my debts have been forgiven.”
He reflects on how Maryknoll Lay Missioners live out that prayer not only in words but through their daily choices—choosing simplicity over status, purpose over prestige, and solidarity over comfort:
“Seeing how the Maryknoll lay brothers and sisters lived their lives with purpose and conviction in the small actions they took, rather than in the riches of this world, such as chasing the next career move or a larger paycheck, spoke to the virtue of simplicity. A small stipend provided for their daily bread, yet they lived with immense purpose in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable members of society.”
Listen to the full reflection here.
Read the full reflection here.
Compelled by faith to engage with people across cultures and ethnicities, Maryknoll lay missioners live, love and work with communities on the margins to promote active nonviolence and healing.
