Sept. 29, 2019: 26th Sunday C
Sept. 29, 2019: 26th Sunday C
One evening, a young nun boarded a train headed toward the hill country for a silent retreat. She was in desperate need of time away from her busy work at the convent in order to seek silence and contemplation. As her mind drifted off to sleep, she saw a vision of a large crowd of people. Many were emaciated, eaten by worms; some were babies who were abandoned, orphaned, unloved, and uncared for. There were disfigured faces of lepers. They were all raising their hands toward her saying, “Teresa, come, come, save us. Bring us to Jesus.” As the vision continued, Blessed Mother appeared in the midst of this suffering crowd and said, “Teresa, do you see the crowd? Take care of them. They are mine. Bring them to Jesus… Fear not, Jesus and I will be with you…” This haunting vision was etched in Mother Teresa’s memory and served as the inspiration for her to leave behind the comfortable life as a member of the Loreto Sisters to found a brand new religious order called “Missionaries of Charity” among the poorest of the poor.
Blessed Mother’s words to Mother Teresa, “They are mine. Take care of them. Bring them to Jesus,” are just as relevant to us today as they were to Mother Teresa 73 years ago. As we go about our day, we pass by blighted neighborhoods where people suffer from neglect and poverty. There are people in those neighborhoods who are not wanted nor desired, people whom no one will help and have been pushed away or forgotten. There are other neighborhoods that look stately and beautiful, yet we know some folks there also suffer from neglect and poverty — a poverty of love. They too have been pushed away and not wanted.
The person who suffers from poverty, whether physical, spiritual, or emotional, is our modern-day Lazarus. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus points to the indifference that can set in the hearts of people as they cocoon themselves in the comfort and busyness of life. A husband can immerse himself in work so much that even though he is at home, he is far removed from the life of his family. A couple can preoccupy themselves with keeping up with the Jones' that they neglect their own spiritual life and that of their children. Pope Francis observed, “Our life is made up of many things, a torrent of news, of many problems: all this leads us not to see, not to be aware of the problems of the people who are near us. Indifference seems to be a medicine that protects us from involvement and becomes a way of being more relaxed. But this non-involvement is a way of defending our selfishness, and saddens us…”
Mother Teresa often said that poverty in the West is not so much the hunger for bread, but hunger for love and hunger for God. We don’t have to look or travel to far places. She said, “Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely, right where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in homes and in your workplace and in your schools.” The danger of indifference toward our neighbor is that we become calloused and self-centered, and the joy of giving is gone. Jesus and His Mother are with us to help us to open our eyes and to respond to the call to bring God’s love to our neighbors. Let us ask for the grace of greater sensitivity to those in need. Let us begin first with our family and then go beyond, to bring them to Jesus.
