The Vital Mandate of Assisting Those In Need

I have a friend and a member of the Sisters of Social Service who has spent her life ministering to impoverished families and children of Paliparan, Cavite, in the Philippines. At 82, she is still actively raising funds and putting up projects to help people experiencing poverty, such as providing college scholarships to deserving students. When I called her a few months ago, she told me she was organizing a nutrition program for poor children in a public school. These children attend school with empty stomachs because their families cannot even afford to provide them with a nutritious breakfast.

“How would they learn if they come to school hungry?” I told Sister. “Even we adults would find it hard to comprehend any subject on an empty stomach,” I added.

“That’s precisely the point,” Sister told me. “We can put a nutrition program—a well-balanced breakfast before attending classes.”

“I’ll help you to raise money from here,” I told Sister.

A few weeks ago, she sent me pictures of children enjoying a healthy breakfast before school. The kids enjoyed nutritious food with protein, milk, fiber, and minerals. After a month, Sister proudly shared with me that the children looked healthy and engaged well in their studies.

Friends, projects like this nutrition program for needy children bring us joy and hope. I hope that there are many more people like my friend and her supporters who continue to find ways to feed hungry children.

This Sunday’s Gospel on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus makes us think about how we’re helping the poor around us. Do we look the other way on those who are suffering from hunger and homelessness? Do we feast on our wealth and are not concerned with the needs of our poor neighbors? Are some of our financial resources committed to helping projects to end poverty and hunger and provide healthcare for all? In other words, is part of our budget assisting those in need?

One of the sins we all need to reflect on is the sin of omission. Many of us are not aware that we’re committing this grave sin. This is fundamentally connected to the words of Jesus, Matthew 25:35-40:

“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; I needed clothes, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you looked after me; I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did it to me.”

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of helping those experiencing poverty. Assisting those in need is not merely an option; it is a mandate from Jesus. It signifies what it means to be a faithful Christian and serves as a pathway to eternal life. We do not want to be like the rich man in today’s Gospel who regretted not helping Lazarus, his poor neighbor. While on earth, this rich man was dressed in purple garments and fine linen, dining sumptuously each day, while his neighbor Lazarus lay at his door, covered in sores, longing for scraps that fell from his table. When this rich man died, he found himself in the torment of hell, while Lazarus, who also died, was enjoying the bliss of heaven. The rich man then uttered the poignant plea, “I beg you, Father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.”

Here at Incarnation, we will be assisting the Sisters of Social Service this Christmas by funding their nutrition program for the impoverished children of Paliparan, Cavite, in the Philippines, through our Advent Giving Tree. Any contributions we make to the Sisters will help sustain this worthwhile cause. Together, in our small ways, we can make a difference in the lives of these children.

Blessings!

Fr. Rodel Balagtas