Mother Teresa once said, “At the end of life, we will not be judged by how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking in the homeless—hungry not only for bread but hungry for love, naked not only for clothing but naked for human dignity and respect, homeless not only for want of a room but homeless because of rejection. This is Christ in distressing disguise.”
The Season of Lent encourages us to improve our lives through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer will strengthen our relationship with God by listening and conversing, going deeper, sharpening our personal moral code, imitating Christ and the Saints, and routinely checking in with the Lord to orient us along a holy and wholesome path. Fasting and abstaining from things we don’t need can strengthen our relationship with ourselves through self-sacrifice toward self-betterment; it’s not just about renouncing bad food and drink but other things we put into our minds and souls that diminish us. When we give up something that is detrimental it is usually good to replace it with something that is life-giving. Almsgiving is a result of prayer and fasting. When we refine our relationship with God and self, it provides a natural flow to improve our relationships with others, starting with those who are less fortunate. The church, based on Matthew’s Gospel that is proclaimed on Ash Wednesday, tells us that charitable giving or outreach to those in need, is the third hallmark of this season and is intimately tied to the other two.
With that in mind, I appeal to you now, as I often do when our inner-city food pantry shelves are dangerously low or empty, for groceries to feed hungry neighbors who come to us for assistance. The Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) food pantry especially needs peanut butter, canned peaches, mixed fruit, or other fruit, collard greens and other canned vegetables, tuna, Jello, and Ramen noodles. Pantries at both SFX and Saint Therese Little Flower (STLF) will accept any foods, household items, or hygiene products that you are able to give. As is often the case, beans, rice, cereal, bread, peanut butter, fruits, and vegetables top the list of needs. Groceries can be brought to either site Monday through Friday mornings, 9:00-noon, or you can drop them in or near my garage in south Kansas City anytime. Saint Francis is located on the southwest corner of 52nd and Troost, where the entrance of the pantry can be found from the parking lot behind the church; Tim and his crew will graciously receive any items that you drop off there. STLF’s pantry is at 5814 Euclid Avenue where the drop off is on the south side of the church building. BJ and her team will faithfully greet you. Either church also welcomes food at Sunday Masses. My residence is 301 East Santa Fe Trail, across the street from Avila University on the south side of campus.
If you can help this round, it will give us a big boost. If not, there will be future times when the needs surface again. If you have commitments to other pantries at local social agencies and prefer giving to them, I suspect they, too, are experiencing a shortage at this time. Our faith calls us to “weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, to care especially for children and the elderly, while empowering the poor to a more hope-filled existence, as we cherish all God’s children.” Let us continue to pray for one another in this sacred season of prayer, penance, and preparation as we strengthen our three most important relationships: with God, ourselves, and others.
As Maran Wright Edelman once stated, “The service we render to others is just the rent we pay for living here on earth. It is the very purpose of life and something we do in gratitude.” Thank you for your ongoing care for our dear neighbor, Christ in distressing disguise.