Jan 24, 2010: 3rd Sunday Ordinary (C) Sanctity of Life Sunday

Early this week I was over at the convent of Missionaries of Charity to pray with the sisters during their Holy Hour. If you know how these sisters live, you can appreciate what I observed there. As the sisters were praying the rosary, kneeling on the hard concrete, I noticed the feet of one of the sisters. The bottom of her feet were full of callous and bunions. When she walked, she walked with a heavy limp. She didn't grimace or complain, though. There were half as many sisters at that evening prayer. And one of the sisters explained that three of the sisters from Baton Rouge and another three from LaFayette convent left that day to drive down to Miami. The sisters were going to catch a relief-aid airplane bound for Haiti. A thought crossed my mind: 'I wonder what good these sisters will do in all that chaos? They are only bringing their habits and their prayer book. They are risking their lives to do what down there?' Then I remembered a documentary on Mother Teresa that I watched few years ago.

In the documentary, the scene begins with a bomb dropping out of an airplane and hitting a city in Lebanon. This was during the war between Israel and Lebanon in early 1980s. The next scene was a gathering between Mother Teresa, a bishop, bishop's secretary, and a United Nations representative. The UN representative said that there were a number of mentally handicapped children who were in a facility in Lebanon whose care takers have abandoned them. The children were there without anyone to help give water and food to them for several days since the bombing began. The UN representative pleaded for someone to go and take a look at those children. Mother Teresa began by saying that we should be there, perhaps she can go and bring out one child at a time over to the Israel's side. Then the bishop's secretary interjected, saying that they are still in war and we should not risk another lives for this. If there is a cease fire, then we should go check it out. Then Mother Teresa replied, "We should be willing to give up our lives, all for Jesus." In the documentary we learn that Mother Teresa approached US ambassador to Israel to request a security convoy to go visit the children's facility. The ambassador replied, "But Mother we need a cease fire before we can go to the other side." Mother Teresa then said, "I have requested Blessed Mother to grant us a cease fire on her feast day of Assumption which is tomorrow." The ambassador replied, "Mother, I'm glad that you are a woman of prayer. But shouldn't we give Blessed Mother few more weeks so she can work out the details of the cease fire?" The next day there was a cease fire, and the convoy drove Mother Teresa and her sisters over to the facility in Lebanon. It was a chaos in that facility. The children were gaunt and emaciated, lying on their own pool of waste. Many were crying. And all the UN workers and soldiers stood around, not knowing what to do.There were plenty supplies and equipment, but they sat idle because no one knew what to do with those children. Then Mother Teresa entered the room. The first thing she did was to grab hold of a child on the floor who could not stand on his own. She held his head, stroked it, smiled at him, and loved him. In that brief seconds of embrace between this woman from Albania in her blue and white sari and the emaciated Lebanese child there was an exchange of love--a love between a mother and her son. She then pull him into her arms, then handed him over to a UN worker. She said, "We're taking him to our convent in Israel." Then all of a sudden, the manpower, supplies, and equipment found their purpose. In matter of minutes, all the children were loaded up and carried to the other side of the border. At the Missionaries of Charity convent in Israel's side, the children were cleaned, fed, and touched by the sisters. The crying stopped and smiles returned to the children.

As I watched the TV and the saw the photos on the Internet of the desperate situation unfolding in Haiti, I could not help putting myself in their shoes. There in the midst of chaos, under one of the make-shift tents may be a young priest who was just ordained a year and a half ago like myself, wondering how he can instill hope in the people who may have very little reason to hope. Although he may be Haitian and I, a Korean, both of us, as St. Paul says to the Corinthians, "in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit." And because he is essential to this Body of Christ, I who is at another part of this same Body, began praying for him, the unknown priest in Haiti. I have asked those who come in to confession to me, as a penance, to pray for the person in Haiti whose age and circumstance may be similar to them. I know that most of the Catholic churches in Port-au-Prince have been badly damaged to the point that masses can not be said. Being aware of this, whenever I celebrate mass here at Our Lady of Mercy, I pray for all the souls who will die that day in Haiti, and I pray that souls who are alive will find God's peace in the midst of desperation so that they will not degenerate into violence.

We may ask ourselves, "What can I possibly do?" We need to remember the words that Jesus read from the scroll of Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me, to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind..." These are prophetic words for us, who have been baptized in Christ. We have been given everything necessary to "do something" for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Our station in life may not allow us to drop everything and head toward Port-au-Prince like the Missionaries of Charity sisters. But as part of Body of Christ, we can help those in Haiti spiritually; we can fast and offer sacrifice so that hope may return to their hearts.

I told you that when I heard that six sisters were heading down to Haiti, I had my doubts: 'What good will six sisters do in the face of chaos in Haiti--death, looting, violence, hunger, and desperation?' What can they do when millions of dollars of food, supplies, and soldiers with guns cannot keep order in the midst of desperation? What Mother Teresa has shown is that God's love showered upon just one soul can change hearts of those around the soul. No, the primary goal of these sisters will not be digging through concrete, distributing supplies, or tending the injured. Their primary goal is to do what Mother Teresa has done for that emaciated Lebanese child--to love him as God loves him. Soldiers with guns will not convince someone in desperation to stop looting. But a sister in her simple blue striped habit will change a heart by way she loves. She will demonstrate to those around her that all are children of God and that God will provide, therefore there need not be panic or fall into desperation. We can also change one single heart by asking the Lord to assign us one soul in Haiti who needs our prayers and sacrifices. Yes, our material generosity for them will be essential to restoring their infrastructure and basic necessities. But our spiritual gift for them is even more valuable, for we cannot put a price on hope and peace that we are asking God to grant them.