To clothe the naked

The second commandment is similar to the first (cf. Mt 22:39) and cannot be separated from it. We love others with that selfsame love which God puts into our hearts and with which he loves them. Here too, how many obstacles in the way of making others our neighbour: we do not love God and our neighbour enough. Why do we still have so many difficulties in leaving the important but insufficient stage of thought, declarations or protestations, in order to become truly immigrants with the immigrants, refugees with the refugees, and poor alongside those who lack everything?

The liturgical period of Lent is given us in and through the Church in order to purify us of that remainder of selfishness and excessive attachment to things – material or otherwise – which keep us apart from those who have a right to our help: principally those who, whether physically near of far, are unable to live their lives with dignity as men and women created by God in his image and likeness.

Allow yourselves, then, to be imbued by the spirit of penance and conversion, which is the spirit of love and sharing. Imitating Christ, draw close to those who have been left naked and wounded, those whom the world ignores or rejects.

-Blessed John Paul II, Message for Lent (1982)

Blessed John Paul II, through your intercession may we live like Christ as we approach the time of His passion and death.

To give drink to the thirsty

Dear brothers and sisters, I invite you during this Lent to meditate upon the word of life which Christ left to his Church in order to enlighten the journey of each of her members. Recognize the voice of Jesus who speaks to you, especially during this Lenten season, in the Gospel, in the liturgical celebrations, in the exhortations of your pastors. Listen to the voice of Jesus who, tired and thirsty, says to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: “Give me a drink” (Jn 4:7). Look upon Jesus nailed to the Cross, dying, and listen to his faint voice: “I thirst” (Jn 19:28). Today, Christ repeats his request and relives the torments of his Passion in the poorest of our brothers and sisters.

By inviting us through the discipline of Lent to tread the paths of love and hope marked out by Christ, the Church makes us realize that the Christian life involves detachment from superfluous goods, and the acceptance of a poverty which sets us free, and enables us to discover God’s presence and to welcome our brothers and sisters with an ever more active solidarity and in an ever wider fellowship.

Call to mind, then, the Lord’s words: “Whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42). Take to heart and find hope in these other words: “Come blessed of my Father,… for I was thirsty and you gave me to drink” (Mt 25:34-35).

During Lent of 1993, in order to practise in a concrete way the solidarity and fraternal charity associated with the spiritual quest of this special season of the year, I ask the members of the Church to remember particularly the men and women suffering the tragic desertification of their lands, and those who in too many parts of the world are lacking that basic yet vital good which is water…

...May the active generosity of the sons and daughters of the Church, and of all men and women of good will, hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah: “For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water” (Is 35:6-7)!

-Blessed John Paul II, Message for Lent (1993)

Blessed John Paul II, through your intercession may we live like Christ as we approach the time of His passion and death.

To feed the hungry

How many times have we read and listened to the awesome text from Chapter 25 of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew: “When the Son of man comes in his glory…, he will say… ‘Come O blessed of my Father… for I was hungry and you gave me food…’”!

Yes, the Redeemer of the world experiences the hungers of all his hungry brothers and sisters. He suffers with those who cannot feed their bodies: all those peoples that are victims of drought or unfavourable economic conditions, all those families affected by unemployment or scarcity of work. And yet our earth can and must feed all its inhabitants, from the youngest children to the aged, and including all the categories of those who work.

Christ also suffers with those who rightly hunger for justice and for respect for their human dignity; he suffers with those who are deprived of their fundamental liberties, with those who are neglected or, worse still, exploited in their state of poverty…

… Giving from our surplus and even from what we need for ourselves is not always a spontaneous reaction of our nature. It is precisely for this reason that we must constantly cast a fraternal glance at our fellow human beings and their lives; it is precisely for this reason that we stimulate within ourselves this hunger and thirst for sharing, for justice and for peace, so that we shall really undertake deeds that will help to assist individuals and peoples that are hard pressed…

… “Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. This exhortation of Saint Paul to the Corinthians is extremely relevant today (2 Cor 9:7). May you be enabled to feel the deep joy that comes from sharing food, from giving a welcome to a stranger, from assisting in the human advancement of the poor, from obtaining work for the unemployed, from the honest and courageous exercise of your civic, social and professional responsibilities, from the peace experienced in your homes and in all your relationships with others! All of this reflects the Love of God, to which we must be converted. Love inseparable from the so often urgent service of our neighbour. Let us desire, and let us deserve, to hear Christ tell us at the last day that inasmuch as we did good to one of the least of his brethren we did it to him!

-Blessed John Paul II, Messagefor Lent (1984)

Blessed John Paul II, through your intercession may we live like Christ as we approach the time of His passion and death.

The Corporal Works of Mercy, as we approach the Triduum

Throughout his pontificate, Blessed John Paul II spoke often of charity and our responsibility to lift up the dignity of every human person. He placed a special focus on charity in his Lenten Messages, where he reminded the Church to live out the Corporal Works of Mercy.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the corporal works of mercy:

… consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God (2447).

Holy Week is fast approaching, but it’s never too late to recommit to a Christ-like life of giving. Each day leading up to the Triduum, we will post short pieces from Blessed John Paul II’s Lenten reflections on each of the corporal works of mercy—to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead.

Blessed John Paul II, through your intercession may we live like Christ as we approach the time of His passion and death.

Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Latin America

Pope Benedict XVI spent time in Mexico and Cuba this past week, following in the footsteps of Blessed John Paul II. In his Welcoming Ceremony address at Cuba’s Antonio Maceo International Airport, Pope Benedict said:

Standing here among you, I cannot but recall the historic visit to Cuba of my predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, who left an indelible mark on the soul of all Cubans. For many, whether believers or not, his example and his teachings are a luminous guide for their personal lives and their public activity in the service of the common good of the nation. His visit to this island was like a gentle breath of fresh air which gave new strength to the Church in Cuba, awakening in many a renewed awareness of the importance of faith and inspiring them to open their hearts to Christ, while at the same time kindling their hope and encouraging their desire to work fearlessly for a better future.

Pope Benedict spoke of his own visit as well, and he subtly referenced the economic troubles in Cuba as well as their human rights issues:

I come to Cuba as a pilgrim of charity, to confirm my brothers and sisters in the faith and strengthen them in the hope which is born of the presence of God’s love in our lives. I carry in my heart the just aspirations and legitimate desires of all Cubans, wherever they may be, their sufferings and their joys, their concerns and their noblest desires, those of the young and the elderly, of adolescents and children, of the sick and workers, of prisoners and their families, and of the poor and those in need.

Many parts of the world today are experiencing a time of particular economic difficulty, that not a few people regard as part of a profound spiritual and moral crisis which has left humanity devoid of values and defenceless before the ambition and selfishness of certain powers which take little account of the true good of individuals and families. We can no longer continue in the same cultural and moral direction which has caused the painful situation that many suffer. On the other hand, real progress calls for an ethics which focuses on the human person and takes account of the most profound human needs, especially man’s spiritual and religious dimension. In the hearts and minds of many, the way is thus opening to an ever greater certainty that the rebirth of society demands upright men and women of firm moral convictions, with noble and strong values who will not be manipulated by dubious interests and who are respectful of the unchanging and transcendent nature of the human person.

Hopefully Pope Benedict’s visit will be another “gentle breath of fresh air” for the people of Cuba and her Church.

Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Pray for Us.

Archbishop-designate Lori will focus on New Evangelization

Archbishop-designate William Lori, who served for 11 years as bishop of Bridgeport and currently serves as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, said he will focus particularly on the New Evangelization with his new flock in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“Evangelization is at the heart of the mission of the Church,” he said in a press conference last week. “Evangelization is not something the Church does, alongside other things. Really, everything the Church does — whether it’s proclaiming and teaching the word, celebrating the sacraments or engaging in works of charity and education — everything is a proclamation of Christ.”

Let us pray for Archbishop-designate Lori as he prepares for his new position in the Church.

Happy Feast of the Annunciation!

Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, intercede that we may have courage like you, to follow the will of God.

"...Mary must walk through darkness, in which she must simply trust the One who called her. Yet even her question, “How can this come about?”, suggests that Mary is ready to say yes, despite her fears and uncertainties. Mary asks not whether the promise is possible, but only how it will be fulfilled. It comes as no surprise, therefore, when finally she utters her fiat: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38). With these words, Mary shows herself the true daughter of Abraham, and she becomes the Mother of Christ and Mother of all believers.

-Blessed John Paul II, Homily at Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation, March 25, 2000