UNDERGRADUATE

2: You-Did-It-To-ME
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
‘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; naked, and you
clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in
prison, and you came to 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?
‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in,
or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick,
or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer
and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that
you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the
least of them, you did it to Me.’ 6
A leader of an organization of the poor in India once said to
Mother Teresa: “Mother, there is a key difference between
the work that we do and the work that you do. We do our
work for something and you do your work for Someone.” 7
Mother Teresa’s work is beyond social work. The work of
the Missionaries of Charity (MC) is not of this life, but of
the life to come. The MC’s are not in the business of feeding
stomachs, but the business of saving souls. Jesus did not
come to preserve the physical body, but to give eternity to the
soul. The Missionaries of Charity follow suit of Jesus Christ.
Jesus takes his dwelling place in the poor, for they have
emptied themselves and made room for him. We see this
most clearly as the God of the Universe chose the most
humble Blessed Virgin Mary to come into the world
“because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid.” 8
God the Father through salvation history never ceases to
exalt the humble as Mary proclaims in the Magnificat:
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has
exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich
he has sent away empty. 9
There is no room for Jesus Christ to dwell in the prideful,
for they are filled with themselves. In truth, Christ can
only take abode in those who have humbled themselves
and left room for Him. This is why the most humble Mary
was “Full of Grace.” 10
In the Beatitudes, Christ says, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Truly, for the
whole kingdom of heaven 11 comes and takes their dwelling
in the poor of spirit. Consequently, when we touch the
hands and feet of the poor, we touch the Hands and Feet
of Jesus Christ.
If all of these points prove true, then I was surely serving
Jesus Christ during my time with the MC’s in India. As I
put my hand on the bare chest of a man, I felt the heartbeat
of Jesus; as I sat near a younger boy and he clasped on to
my hand, the Lord sent life into my soul; as I fed a man
food, it was the Mouth of Christ that I was serving.
Many people from around the world come to Calcutta to
volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity. Old volunteers
leave and new volunteers come in every day. The reality is
that the Sisters can get the work done without the volunteers.
If one goes to Calcutta to save physical lives with food and
medicine, they will be left hopeless and discouraged, for
death and sickness are unending in Calcutta. Though, if
one goes to Calcutta to join in the work of Christ for the
salvation of souls, they will leave with hope and a heart
enkindled by the fire of Christ.
6 Matthew 25:34-40.
7 Malcom Muggeridge, Something Beautiful For God.
8 Luke 1:48.
9 Luke 1:52-53.
10 Luke 1:28.
11 Matthew 5:3.
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
39