This inseparable bond between ouracceptance of the message of salvation and genuine fraternal love appears in several scriptural texts which we would do well to meditate upon… The message is one we often take for granted… How dangerous and harmful this is… God’s word teaches us that our brothers and sisters are the prolongation of the incarnation for each of us: “As you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”

The way we treat others has a transcendent dimension: “The measure you give will be the measure you get.” It corresponds to the mercy which God has shown us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you… For themeasure you give will be the measure you get back.”