“For whoever is not against us is for us.  Anyone who give you a cup of water to drink because you belong Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”
By a quirk of faith a particular friendship began with an unplanned stop at a house near the Lil Sioux River in northwest Iowa.  As I was driving through the beautiful valley in between Sutherland and Peterson some years ago, intrigued by the rural land, I pulled into a farmhouse in the midst of this setting.  Meeting Harrison and Jean—both in their late seventies—for the first time, they welcomed me like old neighbors. Though both were in their late seventies at the time, we became good friends over the ensuing years.  Their kindness and hospitality were shaped through their Christian faith: partially Methodist but foremost Quaker.  Having some knowledge and experience with the Society of Friends (Quakers), Harrison and Jean’s personal faith reflected the values of this relatively small community of believers—and further intrigued me.  Our history as Catholic Church in America is tied to the men and women of the Quaker faith.  
Within the original thirteen colonies as our country was taking shape, consider some of the restrictions or outright persecution of Catholics.  Priests were given a short span of time to leave one colony or face arrest, while a law prevented Catholics from voting.  In one colony religious liberty was granted to all “except Papists.”  In the colony of New York (now home to one of the largest archdiocese in the United States) the Assembly passed the first anti-Catholic enactment, followed by laws opposed to Catholics and their beliefs.  In another early province Catholic priests and teachers were ordered to stay away from the territory with long term imprisonment for those who remained.  In the colony of Maryland (where the first Catholic diocese would be established), stringent laws against Catholic education were enacted alongside the extradition of known Jesuits. (Just after our country was formed under the Constitution, there were approximately 25,000 Catholics out of a population of four million, served by 25 priests.)
To my point with the friendship shared with Harrison and Jean.  In spite of the early prejudice, discrimination, and persecution of Catholics and the Roman Catholic faith during the establishment of our country, our Church gained a strong foothold within what would become our United States.  For various reasons our Catholic faith began to flourish, one in particular.  Quakers, who likewise faced similar persecution, often provided safe passage and protection of Catholic families and settlers, risking their own freedoms in doing so. Though their simplicity in worship, lack of rituals or ministers, and pacifism stand in contrast to that of our Catholic faith, they nonetheless heeded the call of Christ: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (MT 25:35).”
In 2015 when Pope Francis visited Philadelphia a local Society of Friends group (the Chestnut Hill Quakers) sent an open letter to our shepherd: “Your messages throughout your visit recognizing the poor, the immigrant, the family, the environment and the champions of peace and justice resonated deeply. Though we worship in a different manner on the surface, we recognize and embrace a fellow traveler in the Spirit that unites us all.”
In spite of Pope Francis’ hectic schedule during his Philadelphia visit, he managed to discern the presence and faith of various religious groups.  At Independence hall Francis shared his thoughts: “The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love. This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit.”
If we are to accept the truth of Jesus words—“Whoever is not against us is with us.”—the source of such will be the Eucharist.  Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est—where charity and love are, God is there.  To receive the grace of the Eucharist, the real presence, we must embody that which is true love, true charity: Christ Jesus, self-emptying, sacrificial, unconditional.  Such is reflected in this simple Quaker Prayer.
God, open my eyes and unstop my ears,
 that I may see your Light and may hear your heartbeat,
 reflecting and resounding within my chest,
 in those of all of my neighbors, near and far,
 in all creatures and plants, 
and in the ground I walk upon. 
And when I finally am able to 
yield to the leading of your rhythm and flow,
 may I come to walk cheerfully over the world
 answering your seed in all. Amen. 
 
God Bless, Fr. Tim
 FYI:   “As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.” (Vincent Van Gogh)