Fr. Richard Ho Lung - Diary Of A Ghetto Priest "BRING THE paint here nuh!", was the cry of one of our associates who came with six other friends to paint our home for the AIDS patients. There was hurrying and scurrying around, and everyone was busy with their labour. Labour Day is a day when everyone tries to do something special for another whether it is service to the poor or to society or to one's country. It is a day when people seek to offer their services in a way which is significant.
In the Catholic Church we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. St. Joseph is considered the patron saint of workers. He lived a life totally devoted to the service of others. As a poor carpenter he had to work hard for a livelihood and thus maintain his family. He also taught his son to do the same. As we remember him, we too seek to serve others, especially those who are really in need of our help. St. Joseph was a quiet worker. He never sought glory for himself. On the contrary, he simply offered himself as an instrument of service so that God would be glorified and Christ would be raised up as a responsible young man who would always seek to serve rather than to be served.
Influenced by this example, Christ proclaims: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many". St. Joseph always submitted to God's will and in a silent way served those around him. Thus, it is quite apt for the Church to consider him as the patron of workers. As Christians, and as a Christian nation, each one of us should be concerned with those who are really in need of our services.
CHARITABLE ACT
It is not enough for us to do a job for the sake of doing it, nor to offer some charitable act for the sake of self-fulfilment. As Christians, we are all called to look out for the 'other' and to give generously. 'It is in giving that we receive', says the Lord, and thus we should take it as a personal command and seize the opportunity to serve others as though it were our last chance. Today, as a nation we suffer the consequences of selfishness. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. With a deteriorating economy, it is not so much the rich who are affected, but in truth and in fact, the middle and the poorer classes feel its effects much more intensely.
As our economy suffers so too does our society, primarily because of an increase in selfishness and an overly concern for self-preservation. Labour Day is a day to remember what we are called to do, namely to serve others, and to serve joyfully and selflessly. On Labour Day there was so much joy and laughter in all our homes. With our volunteers from New Jersey and our Jamaican Associates, we truly experienced the spirit of Christ because everyone was concerned about serving his neighbour. Some associates brought paint to paint the homes, others came to cook a nice meal for the poor, yet others combed hair, bathed the elderly, fed the children and the crippled and prayed in hymns and songs as all of them worshipped the Lord. It was so beautiful! It was truly Labour Day.
As I went from one home to the other, I heard the Brothers praying with the residents, and then a volunteer asked one of our Brothers, "Brother, how do you manage to do all this work and still remain so cheerful?" To this the Brother replied, "My secret is Christ. I see Christ in these people and all I want to do is to pour out all that is within me to serve Him in these poor people. I have been struck deeply by His words, 'Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me'. Whenever I serve them, I find a fresh energy and drive within me to do even more. For me faith is action, and action is love, and my love is to serve Christ in these forgotten ones. Yes, this is my secret."
SUFFERINGS OF THE POOR
Moved by the Brother's response, I saw the richness present in offering our entire lives in the service of the Lord as we serve the homeless and destitute poor. Unfortunately many still do not understand the sufferings of the poor because they do not have time for anyone else but themselves and their concerns. Only when they come down and see what the poor go through daily, can they truly empathise. God came down to earth and became man so as to experience and understand man's condition personally and thus redeem him.
If God has done so, why can't we stoop down to the level of the poor and encounter their suffering and so help them? Let us put aside our selfishness, our overly materialistic concerns, and our desire for constant gratification of the senses, and begin to make sacrifices for others, especially the poor, so that they too may live with dignity and honour. The services we offer on Labour Day should not end there, but should continue daily so that together we can lift up the poor and become united as one family in Christ. The whole life of Christ and all His labours, especially the labour of His redeeming act, was all for the one purpose of uniting mankind as one family of God. This is our call, our purpose. This is to be our labour.
Father Ho Lung is Founder and Superior General of the Brothers of the Poor.
