|
Jesus is present to us in the least of our brothers and sisters In the text of his first homily, Archbishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., said: "Jesus is present to us in the least of our brothers and sisters," he said, voice rising. "He is with us in the hungry, the poor, the Alzheimer's patient, the unborn, the homeless person with AIDS, all of whom have a claim on our love." Saint Francis told us that over 800 years ago. It is a powerful message that often falls on deaf ears. Perhaps especially in this country, because here, until the last decade, most people had employment, and those that hadn't were on some sort of assistance. Of course, we realize that there are people who fall between the cracks and who have no job nor any public assistance and they are worse off than anyone else. A couple of years back, for example, there was no water in a very impoverished Florida community, called Fellsmere. But a couple of miles east, along the beach of Vero Beach, jets of never-ending water irrigated the many golf courses along that area. Often, the least of our brothers and sisters are closer to God than their rich counterparts. The rich or not-so-rich are distracted by financial strategies whereas they should be thinking about the only strategy that matters at all: how to get to spend eternity with Jesus Christ! My mother was an Alzheimer's patient for over 3 years. There came a point that she could no longer take care of herself and I, as her only son, tried without much success to find a nursing home for her. This was in New York City in the early 1980's. Her health insurance had lapsed. She failed to pay the premiums because the disease made her forget. There was much confusing in her life and there came a point when she no longer recognized me. Ultimately I did get her taken care of but it broke my heart to have her placed in a nursing facility in New York that was squalid and filthy. Fortunately, from there she was placed in a slightly better place. Yes, I have seen the face of Jesus in my suffering parent. I have seen that Cross, and the Cross was mine, as I attempted to care for Mom for those years. I can only imagine what families must be going through with two parents ravaged by this disease for which there is no cure. The unborn... the terrible tragedy of the unborn slaughtered in this country and elsewhere, by the millions. Jesus is present in each of these babies because they'll go straight to heaven. But what of the heavy loss to humankind... each of these unborn children would make this world a better place if they had lived to contribute to modern society. The AIDS patient... victim of a deadly disease that has no cure. I've come into contact with a handful of patients who had aids. Once as a Special Eucharistic Minister, I had to dress in white garments doctors wear and use a mask, and wear surgical gloves before being allowed to bring Holy Communion to that person in the hospital. I've been present at the baptism of a little child who had full-blown AIDS. I will never forget these and other brothers and sisters with AIDS, because they are no longer alive. In them I saw Christ's Cross. Yes, Jesus is present to us in the least of our brothers and sisters. But are we present to Him? Are we making an effort to love the person with AIDS, the Alzheimer's patient, the poor and the hungry, or do we run away like a scared animal to avoid meeting someone like that, as if they were not of this planet? It could have been you, very easily, who has AIDS, is homeless, has Alzheimer's disease, or perhaps you were never allowed to be born. And another thing. There are those who are homosexual. The scientists are not sure whether this condition is learned or inherited. The most common presumption is that it has something to do with our upbringing. But the fact is that many gay people cannot switch their sexual preferences and thus live a life that Our Church does not consider acceptable. Being gay is, for many, great suffering. Some gays who want to lead good Catholic lives may join an organization, called "Courage." And parents of gay children are able to get a lot of pastoral information from the same group, called "Encourage." The Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear about homosexuality but it also encourages up to love our gay brothers and sisters. I am so glad that Archbishop O'Malley, who now has high media coverage, publicly stated his belief that we should see Christ in one another, no matter who we are, rich, poor, hungry, sick, in pain, or healthy - for we are ALL brothers and sisters in Christ and even in the least of us, Jesus in his omnipotent love is present! Fred Schaeffer, SFO |
