'A Full Court Press to Fill the Mandate of Matthew 25'

Photo from Food for the Poor

Jesuit Father John Dear, a resident of Santa Fe, wrote about a retreat he gave to 300 staff members of Food For the Poor at their headquarters near Miami.  Food for the Poor is an interdenominational Christian relief and development organization directed by Robin Mahfood. 

Here are excerpts from John Dear's column in NCR Online, entitled Don't Forget Food for the Poor.

I was there to lead a day of reflection on Jesus and Gospel nonviolence, but it was I who learned so much about their good works of mercy and charity and their full court press to fulfill the mandate of Matthew 25: “When I was hungry, you fed me.”

During my talks I spoke of the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and the command to “love our enemies” in Matthew 5. It’s in those passages that we see the full spectrum of Jesus’ politically incorrect vision -- that war not only makes people hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick, and imprisoned. It bombs them, vaporizes them, and kills them...

For a day we discussed this Gospel vision of renouncing the culture’s wars and greed to embrace Christ’s vision of universal, nonviolent love. It was like hearing again that beautiful line from Tennyson: Come my friends, it’s not too late to seek a newer world.

Food For the Poor works in 17 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America to assist the poorest of the poor. They collaborate with pastors, missionaries and local churches to bring immediate relief to those in most need. Robin told me they feed two million people a day, six days a week.

They feed millions -- an astounding achievement on its own -- and do much more. They drill wells for drinking water; provide medical care; build homes for homeless families; provide skills training and micro-enterprise opportunities to offer work; and give children an education.

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