I am currently in Tagaytay, Philippines for reverse carolling with ICPE Mission Philippines. We spent the first day preparing ourselves spiritually before we began our outreach efforts proper and I had many little epiphanies that day.
I first understood more fully what the Pope meant when he said that the Church was not an NGO, for our efforts to serve the poor need to involve our spirituality, chiefly our belief in Christ.
It is because of our faith in Christ that we love and help "the least of our brethren". But much more than that, we are called to proclaim the Word "with simplicity" a simplicity that gives way to the power of the Word of God. And thus we can proclaim the Gospel as grace.
This good news, as Pope Francis pointed out in his hot-off-the-press Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, is too good to be kept to ourselves:
Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness.
It is indeed awesome news and our responsibility to share this message of joy that was brought to fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ is meant for everyone.
The second thing I understood more wholly was the Church's social teaching of preferential treatment for the poor. Why are we exhorted to love the poor?
Again it is to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who not only claimed the prophecy from Isaiah, but then went on to do just that: He brought good news to the poor, healed the contrite of heart, released the captive, restored sight to the blind and set the downtrodden free.
Plus, Jesus Himself chose to be born in humble circumstances. To have for a crib a manger, a trough used to feed animals; to have to flee, like a refugee, to Egypt to avoid persecution; to be brought up as a carpenter's son; his deliberate self-abasing choices showed His preferential love for and identification with the poor.
Therefore when we reach out to the poor, we are, in essence, encountering Christ Himself in them. So whatever kind deed we perform for them is not equal to the blessing we, in turn, receive in our encounter with our Servant King.
We may think that we are giving much, but if we truly see the situation for what it is, we are receiving so much more in return.
The final insight I received in our preparation is how prayer must be the foundation of all our efforts. It is only with prayer that we can truly empty ourselves of self, and be filled with Christ's Spirit so that whoever we meet will indeed experience Christ through us.
It is also only with prayer that we can ensure we work through our different emotions to know that it does not matter how we feel, especially feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness. Everything is in God's hands, we are but His willing instruments. We can but do our best and leave the multiplication of loaves to Him.
Today we gave out 30 Christmas hampers to homes in Bagong Silang. We were in Magallanes yesterday where we also gave out 36 hampers and threw a party for 80 children.
While the poverty is appalling for the hovels that passed for homes are cramped, dark and bare, yet I can only marvel at how the human spirit is unquenchable. Signs of hope can be found in the attempts to beautify their homes, in the home-made Christmas decorations, the pride they take in their appearance, and most of all, in the smiles of the children.
I pray that the joy and pleasure I found in the smiles of those I met echo somehow in their hearts.
I first understood more fully what the Pope meant when he said that the Church was not an NGO, for our efforts to serve the poor need to involve our spirituality, chiefly our belief in Christ.
It is because of our faith in Christ that we love and help "the least of our brethren". But much more than that, we are called to proclaim the Word "with simplicity" a simplicity that gives way to the power of the Word of God. And thus we can proclaim the Gospel as grace.
This good news, as Pope Francis pointed out in his hot-off-the-press Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, is too good to be kept to ourselves:
Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness.
It is indeed awesome news and our responsibility to share this message of joy that was brought to fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ is meant for everyone.
The second thing I understood more wholly was the Church's social teaching of preferential treatment for the poor. Why are we exhorted to love the poor?
Again it is to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who not only claimed the prophecy from Isaiah, but then went on to do just that: He brought good news to the poor, healed the contrite of heart, released the captive, restored sight to the blind and set the downtrodden free.
Plus, Jesus Himself chose to be born in humble circumstances. To have for a crib a manger, a trough used to feed animals; to have to flee, like a refugee, to Egypt to avoid persecution; to be brought up as a carpenter's son; his deliberate self-abasing choices showed His preferential love for and identification with the poor.
Therefore when we reach out to the poor, we are, in essence, encountering Christ Himself in them. So whatever kind deed we perform for them is not equal to the blessing we, in turn, receive in our encounter with our Servant King.
We may think that we are giving much, but if we truly see the situation for what it is, we are receiving so much more in return.
The final insight I received in our preparation is how prayer must be the foundation of all our efforts. It is only with prayer that we can truly empty ourselves of self, and be filled with Christ's Spirit so that whoever we meet will indeed experience Christ through us.
It is also only with prayer that we can ensure we work through our different emotions to know that it does not matter how we feel, especially feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness. Everything is in God's hands, we are but His willing instruments. We can but do our best and leave the multiplication of loaves to Him.
Today we gave out 30 Christmas hampers to homes in Bagong Silang. We were in Magallanes yesterday where we also gave out 36 hampers and threw a party for 80 children.
While the poverty is appalling for the hovels that passed for homes are cramped, dark and bare, yet I can only marvel at how the human spirit is unquenchable. Signs of hope can be found in the attempts to beautify their homes, in the home-made Christmas decorations, the pride they take in their appearance, and most of all, in the smiles of the children.
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