HUMANITY AND CHARITY: THE POOR ARE ALWAYS AMONG US
With great joy, I welcome you all again to the Catholic Diocese of Ondo from all the dioceses of Ibadan ecclesiastical province. We bless the name of the Lord for granting you journey mercies. May he protect those who are still coming and lead you back home safely. I hope you are already enjoying the beauty and splendour of the sunshine state. Let me quickly also congratulate the members of St. Vincent De Paul of Ondo diocese for the success already recorded in this meeting; I pray that the grace of God will abide with you all!
INTRODUCTION
It is a good thing for Christians to come together to examine their common essence as humans which no one can deny or shy away from irrespective of the technological advancement and the excitement that this has brought to many, thereby making them to lose focus of the purpose for which they are made ‘man’. It is much more interesting for me, when Christians converge to identify their common purpose and meditate on it for better realization, appreciation and appropriation. This is because, without purpose, there will be no direction and without direction there will be anxiety and chaos. The purpose for which we are created not in individualistic isolation is for interpersonal self-giving and sacrifice, which is referred to in Christian teaching as charity. The onus is therefore on us to discuss our common essence as humans, the purpose for which we are called Christians and how we can be at our best in matters of charity.
PRELIMIANRY UNDERSTANDING
The word humanity is a generic term derived from the stem human whose root is from the Latin origin. It is the combination of two words Homo meaning man and humus, which means earth. The second part of this combination reminds us that we were made from the earth and as the scriptures record, we shall all return to the earth. As humans, we are limited and finite beings always in need. This is because no one is an island and self-sufficient. In the Anthropological sense, studies have shown that man is an interactive being. Take for instance that there is only one man living in the whole of Akure, how will it look like? How will he cope and survive? The truth of the matter is that, it is part of the essential constituent of every human being to be social. We are all social being by nature! Humanity as an umbrella has placed on all of us the imperative to socialize, interact and to dialogue. All of these involves ‘charity’.
Charity is what keeps humanity alive! Without charity, humanity will be stiffened and in fact, extinguished. The word charity is often used interchangeably with love, since the word charity has its root from the Latin origin caritas, which means love. Thus, love is what keeps humanity together and going forward. Without love, which is the basis for self-giving and sacrifices, humanity would have been totally forgotten. This is easily understood by the religious minds like many of present here, who are Christians. We were all taught that creation is an expression of God’s love. This love is specially extended to human beings when the Triune God made man in his own image and likeness, breathing into him the breath of life. The most indescribable and unfathomable expression of God’s love was experienced when humanity fell through disobedience and lost all that was godly and yet was not abandoned but was redeemed through the love of God; “for God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). It is still God’s love that is keeping creation at large and humanity in particular.
The coming into being of every individual is a product of interaction of two persons (father and mother). In the ordinary arrangement, these two come together on the basis of love, which is expressed by the act of giving oneself to the other and receiving the other in a corresponding manner. In other words, both the father and the mother contribute and have donated something to the other. So, there is no one who is the product of isolation or self-sufficient.
Sometime ago, Pope Saint John Paul II taught that no one is too poor that he has nothing to offer or too rich that he has no place to receive. Therefore, we are all poor! We are all in need of the other. Since no one has it all, we shall only be satisfied when we get to heaven and see God, who will satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst, as He really is. Every attempt to eradicate poverty could mean that we want to eradicate humanity because by nature all humans are poor since nobody is self-sufficient. So, Christ did not give us the mandate to eradicate poverty, instead, He wants us to give to the poor. Thus, he said the poor will always be among you.
THE CHALLENGE
The purpose for which we are created must always be evaluated. An unexamined life is not worth living says Socrates. In like manner, Chinua Achebe once said that if we do not know where rain began to beat us, we may not know where we began to dry our clothes. In every journey, there are three basic rational question to be asked: first, where are we coming from? Second is; why am I here? Then the third is where am I going to? The inability to put these questions in right perspective and proffer appropriate answer is a clear indication of one who lacks the understanding of his purpose in life. It was Archbishop Fulton sheen who once wrote in his book: Life is Worth Living that life without purpose is monotonous and boring. No matter what, a life without purpose or good understanding of one’s purpose in life is full of anxiety and crisis.
The crisis in the world today is too disturbing such that there is fear almost in everyone. The darkness of these crises calls more than ever before our light to shine forth. Our world is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. The nightmare that the reality of atomic bomb possessed by the world powers brings is even more challenging. Man’s inhumanity to fellow man is clearly seen in the wars going on in some parts of the world today with many allies formed not necessarily to bring succour and joy but for personal gain and benefits fanning the flame of wars; in the west it is Russia and Ukraine, in the east, it is Israel and Hamas, in Africa it is between some countries and the regional government and so many internal struggle among nations that if proper care is not taken, a full blown war may ensue.
The resultant effect of these wars and crisis is the physical displacement of people from their homes such that in some countries today IDP camps are more than the ordinary home settlement. Thus, family system is destroyed, hatred is spread rather than love, anger is brewed to mention but a few. People are hungry for lack of food caused by these wars and thirsty; because waters are contaminated and prone to a lot of diseases; because the air is also polluted. With the crises of wars and conflicts in the world around the twentieth century with the world wars, the existentialist philosophers came on board to ask the fundamental question, why do we exist? In other words, why are we here, what is our purpose on earth? Conflicts, wars and crises do not answer this questions. The authentic answer to this question is: “…to know, to love and to serve him and so to come to paradise.” (CCC no.1721)
THE CLARION CALL
The poor are always with us! With the crises discussed above, we are aware that the tolls of the casualties are growing by the day. The number of those affected and troubled are increasing by the day. At this juncture, it is worthy to mention an important write-up by John P Clark. During the civil war in Nigeria (1967-1970), J. P. Clark wrote an epistolary poem to his friend Chinua Achebe to console him. The title of the poem is the CASUALTIES. In this poem, J. P. Clark discussed the fact that not only those who are dead are the casualties of war. There are so many who still have the scars and deep-seated wounds caused by the war. This sometimes include the lost of loved ones, destruction of aged long investments and savings, constantly making people to ask where will I begin from? Some are psychologically battered because of paralyzing injuries sustained during the crisis they experienced.
In the ordinary human sense, some of these wars are not coming to an end any moment soon. Off course we only know the beginning of wars, nobody can predict the end. I suppose that God has not put in our faculty to end these crises both natural and political but in the midst of this crises to show his beautiful face. God wants us to co-exist with the good, the bad and the ugly without losing focus of his beatific light. Even the challenges we face ourselves, are to be endured with the help and grace that we have received. St. Paul is therefore our model in this matter, when he went to God to pray three times for the demon in him to be removed but the Lord told him that his grace is sufficient for him. So, our purpose is not to eradicate poverty, but to love the poor.
The poor reveals the real face of the Lord. The United Nations put poverty line to be 2.15 per person per day. This means that anybody in Nigeria who cannot afford 3,418.5naira is very poor. However, you and I know that there are a lot persons that cannot even afford 500 naira just to feed per day. It is in the faces of persons like these that Jesus is seen. Christ prefers to be part of the poor and identify with them. In fact, he knew that to be poor was necessary for our salvation and uplift, as we learnt from the bible: “for you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (II Cor 2:9). The poor persons are dear to the heart of Jesus such that whenever they call in the midst of oppression, he hears them (Ps. 34:6). We need to Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and will be paid in full (Proverbs 19:17).
The purpose of our Christian calling is to love and care for the poor. The scriptures taught us that is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35), for charity covers multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). Dear devotees of St. Vincent De Paul, I want you to know that it is well with the man who is generous and lend (Ps. 112:5). From the bible passages quoted above, it is undeniable that is a noble task to attend to the needy. It is noble because that is what the Lord wants us to do, not for immediate personal gain but with the consciousness that our father who sees in secrete will reward you (Matt. 6:4). Let also remind you that “god is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do” (Hebrews 6:10)
In all of these, it is good to mention that you cannot give what you do not have. I must tell you that I admire your mendicant disposition in our respective parishes and dioceses. Mendicancy is from the Latin origin mendicans, which means begging! We see you humbling yourself to beg on behalf of our brothers and sisters who do not have the opportunities we have as we thank the Lord “who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (II Cor. 1:4). I wish to challenge you to extend the frontiers of your lay apostolate beyond mendicancy. I beg you all to ensure that you are also working hard that you yourself have something to give for the Lord said to his apostles: They do not need to go away, you yourselves give them something to eat (Matt. 14:16, Mark 6:37). I encourage you to intensify your efforts to increase your income so as to really help the poor as part of your sacrifices.
CONCLUSION
I am really glad that you came together to discuss this essential activity that is so noble and central to the integrity of poor people and our Christian calling. The poor are always among us and we must allow fresh breath in their existence and ensure their well-being by avoiding ineptitude and insensitivity. It is the desire of the Lord that we attend to them. The Lord has not instructed us to eradicate poverty but to give to the poor and love them. No one is an island; we are all in need. You yourselves must give to the poor.
Thank you for coming and listening!
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