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his morning I set out with despensas, the monthly food subsidy that we provide for the needy of our parish. The first home was that of an elderly woman named Teofila, who lives alone. She receives very little financial help from her family. I had the privilege to visit her. “Teofila,” I called out while staring at her house, a collage of wood and other building materials. Silence answered me. “Teofila!” I shouted. The front door was open so I gently walked into her humble dwelling. It was midday, and the sun showered forth its brightness and heat in all its glory. (I have learned a new meaning of the word “hot” during the summer months in Mexicali.) At 6’1”, I barely cleared the lowly front door. I walked into the front room. With my feet firmly planted on the earthen floor, I spoke her name, “Teofila.” I heard some noise in the back of the house. “Who is it?” “Padre Tomas,” I responded. “Please come in,” she invited. “I already am,” I said with a smile on my face. “I am feeling sick,” she spoke softly. “I am sorry to hear that,” I said compassionately. She emerges from her bedroom, which is a little larger than her bed where a small cooling unit blows hot air. “I prefer to stay inside my room, because it is the only place where I have a fan.”
widow, Teofila lives alone. She does not have any social security. Her “social security” is her grown, married children, who live on the far side of Mexicali and can barely provide her with the necessities. Therefore, she is very grateful for the food subsidy. The grocery bag contains a colorful supply of some of the essentials: rice, beans, vegetable oil, flour, pasta, tomato sauce, and laundry soap. It is a significant food source to her. She opens her small black purse and gives me 20 pesos (about $2.00). She, as well as all the people who receive the subsidy, make and want to make a modest donation. With this money, I buy bulk rice and beans and other items for the food program.
ow I am on my way to visit another person who receives the despensa. Soon I arrive at the house of Leticia. She is a young married woman, who lives with her husband and children in an antiquated truck camper (truck not included). The old wooden fence that marks their small lot is on its last leg. I delicately tap it with a rock and call out, “Leticia.” “Bienvenido!” she welcomes me as she emerges from her earth-colored, cave-like camper. Her young face reflects the many hardships of life. She delicately carries in her arms a newborn gift from God. “Here is my newborn son, Jose,” she says proudly, beaming with joy in the brightness of the noonday sun. “Congratulations,” I joyfully proclaim, “for your wonderful gift from the Lord.” Her husband works odd jobs, here and there, yet he does not have permanent employment. Presently, he is unemployed. I am not sure how they survive. I know that the subsidy helps, yet they have to have other resources to live. Between his modest income and other sources of assistance, they barley have enough to eat and clothe their children.
“Leticia, I want to say a prayer and blessing for you and your family.” Her children quiet down as I invoke the love and protection of God over her and her family. I see the love of God in her face.
get into my truck. Bouncing on my way down a street filled with potholes, I go to visit Doña Refugio (her name means “refuge”) and her grand-daughter Genesis (named after the first book in the Bible). They live on a small, narrow street called a callejon. I honk the horn as I arrive and things begin to happen. Genesis, a girl of eight years, bolts out of the house to greet me with a hug. Doña Refugio stands guard in front of her simple home. They give me a royal welcome, insisting, “Please come in, yes, please come in.”
walk into the house and sit down on a chair in front of a fan. The air is heavy with heat. Without this fan circulating the air, I think that we would surely die. Doña Refugio is a widowed, older woman. She has already raised her family and finds herself a “mother” again to her granddaughter. Thanks be to God for grandmothers! She is pleased to have Genesis with her and to raise her. Refugio is a woman of tremendous faith, who prays the rosary daily for her family and other. She trusts in the Lord that God will supply them their every need. Her refuge is the Lord. I can hear her praying: “I love you. O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. My God, my rock of refuge.” (Psalm 18:2-3). The food subsidy program’s purpose is solidarity with the poor and marginated. “Love one another as I have loved you,” says the Lord. (Jn13:34).
I, along with my team of four of my faithful, meet monthly to evaluate the program and to see how we can better serve our people. We pray for those who receive the subsidy, visit them, and pray with them. We try to attend to their other needs too: spiritual, medical, etc. If we reflect on the person of Jesus – his attitudes, teachings, and style of life from his birth to his death on the cross – we observe that the “Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us,” (Jn 1:14) in the suffering and the poor. Jesus was poor and suffered many injustices. We try to see the Lord in the poor and attend to Him accordingly. This is love and justice. “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25:40). I am humbled when I visit our parishioners who receive this basic necessity of life. Without this charity, their lives would be in peril. Their lives depend upon the goodness and love of others. This is our fundamental call from the Lord, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And when you love, you know the joy of the Lord. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3). Blessed are those who live a life of simplicity, charity and generosity, for the sake of God and the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who detach themselves from the material world and attach themselves to the Word of God.
pray daily for you, our benefactors and friends. Your sacrifices make my mission possible. I have been blessed in my service to the poor. You are an integral part of my mission too. Thanks, and may God always bless and guide you on the way to life and life eternal.
Padre
Tomas, O.P.
Prayer: Triduum of Saint Martin de Porres
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A
Morning Of Summer Ministry In Mexicali
After
a short conversation, I pray with her and give her God’s blessing.
She is grateful for the blessing. Her face radiant, she says, “Adios,”
and hugs me. I feel blessed too.
Although
she has many worries and concerns, I have always found her pleasant
and happy. I wonder how she lives
