Three days after his election, Pope Francis spoke
of his desire for a Catholic Church ‘of the poor and for the poor.’ There could hardly be a person closer to his
vision of the Christian message than Mother Teresa. He recalled that her work was not only with
the poor and abandoned of Calcutta – she had tirelessly campaigned for the poor
of the earth. ‘She bowed down before
those who were spent, who were left to die on the side of the road, seeing in
them their God-given dignity. She made
her voice heard before the powers of the world so that they might recognise
their guilt for the crime of poverty they created.’
Last Sunday’s ceremony of the canonisation of
Mother Teresa during Mass in St. Peter’s Square was an eloquent demonstration
of the two great treasures of the Church – the Eucharist and the poor. Ever since the Church was entrusted with the
great gift of the Eucharist it created ministries around the altar and the
service of the poor. The Acts of the
Apostles, which tells us how the infant Church set about its Christ-given task
emphasised what its concerns were. ‘They
would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as
any had need. Day by day, as they spent
much time together in the temple, and met in their own homes for the breaking
of bread, and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and
having the good will of all the people,’ (2:45-46).
St Paul tells us how in Corinth the meeting in
their houses ‘for the breaking of bread’ was not always observed as it should
have been’. ‘When you come together it
is not really to eat the Lord’s Supper... you show contempt for the Church of
God and humiliate those who have nothing.’ (1Corinthians 11:20,22) Paul was furious that the Eucharist was
celebrated in a way that dishonoured the poor.
There were many poor people at Mother Teresa’s Canonisation Mass. About 1,500 residents of homes run by the
Sisters of Mercy in Milan, Bologna, Florence, Naples and Rome were honoured
guests at the ceremony. Afterwards 250
of these sisters and 50 brothers served them with a Neapolitan pizza lunch in
the foyer of the Paul VI audience hall, just off St Peter’s Square. In his homily Pope Francis spoke of Christ
washing the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper and he spoke of Mother
Teresa’s service to the poor, which Christ inspired. Throughout the ages God has called forth Saints
to remind us that the poor are the treasure of the Church. St Vincent de Paul said that ‘the poor are
our teachers.’
If we forget this vision of the Church where the
poor are seen as a treasure, we may think that the only way that Christians can
seek to build unity is around the Eucharist. Christians cannot yet all eat
together around the same Eucharistic table but we can all sit down together and
eat at the same table with the poor. We
cannot all drink from the same Eucharistic chalice but we can all drink from
the same cup of suffering, the suffering of division and of oppression in our
world. That is why the Worthing Churches
Homeless Projects are so important- co-operating together to help the poor and
homeless is something Christ must surely delight in seeing us do. Coming together to worship Our Lord must also
be dear to his heart. Next Sunday we
have an opportunity to do this at St. Mary’s Church, Goring.
We may not be able to organise huge events that
grab headlines but we must not undervalue the significance of the little steps
we can take to build up God’s Kingdom of justice, love and peace.
