Another of the corporal works of mercy that we are asked to do, especially during this Year of Mercy, is to feed the hungry. Our Lord warns us that the fires of hell await us if we fail to give food to the hungry (Matthew 25:41), because He associates Himself with the poor. If we fail to feed them, we fail to feed Him, and that is very serious. This is just not a matter of doing something to feel good. We do no often say it this way, this bluntly, but we have to: doing the works of mercy doesn't just make us feel good, doing them helps us stay out of hell. With all due respect to our Protestant brothers and sisters, they are wrong when they say once saved, always saved. Our salvation is determined, in part, by our actions. It is faith and works, not just faith. Therefore, if we don't do the works Our Savior commanded, like feeding the hungry, we could be facing eternal damnation.
It goes without saying that there are many hungry people in the world today. It seems we have been saying that for years and years and years and years and years and years. Getting food to places where it is needed, one would think would be easier today with better means of travel, communication, and overall technology. However, it still seems difficult in many pieces, despite all that. It is an indictment against us as stewards of God's Creation that hunger still exists in some parts of the world, and in pockets of every country all over the globe.
Each of us is responsible to one degree or another for the fact that we are not feeding the hungry as we ought to be. It is not the government's fault, it is not society's fault, it is our fault, yours and mine. Again, we will each be held responsible for this, and each of us could possibly lose our salvation as a result. The governments of the world will not be seated at the judgment seat of God. You will. I will. Therefore, we need to each pray what we can each do about this. Can we give time and/or money regularly to a local soup kitchen? Can we give more money regularly to the Saint Vincent de Paul box at our local parish (or Saint Anthony box for the poor like exists at the Shrine)? Can we sponsor a child from a country that is in famine? Can we cut back on some of the money we spend on groceries and give that to a more needy family? Can we get involved with some group that sends food to those places (as long as that group does not compromise on any other Catholic values)? We all can do something.
Catholics in particular should have a particular affinity to solve this problem. Why? Because the highlight of our lives is eating God (yes you are reading that correctly, eating God). The Eucharist, which we have spoken of before, is, while being a sacrifice, also at the same time, a sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1382). Jesus says in John 6:53, "Truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." While many speak of having a "personal relationship" with Jesus, Catholics go beyond that. We eat Him! How much more personal can one get?
Eating, therefore, is rich in meaning. It is personal. Just like a babe sucks on the breasts of his mother, we eat of the flesh of the Son of God. The fact that God decided that the highest form of communion He can have with us is by allowing us to digest Him as food, shows that He places high value on the act of eating and drinking and therefore, those who go without that ability, must cause God to weep, and therefore, must cause us to weep too.
So during this Year of Mercy, let us resolve to no longer think of feeding the hungry as something feel good or humanistic, something to make us feel better and the world a better place . Let us realize this work of mercy in the full grandeur of what it is. Feeding the hungry helps save us from hell, and is something dearly intimate to the heart of Him who is deeply concerned about satisfying hunger in all forms, and demonstrated that by becoming edible for us.
Saint Joseph, protector of the flesh of Christ who became food for all, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment