The Bible contains hundreds of passages on the topics of social justice and service to the poor. In Proverbs 31, there is a particular verse expressing justice for the poor that instructs people to speak up for the needy. It says that, judging righteously and fairly, we should defend and protect the rights of the impoverished, and help the neglected or forsaken.
Many times, however, the homeless, the infirm, the destitute, the addicted, and the abandoned among us are treated instead with scorn. They are often judged harshly for the choices or mistakes they “must have made,” accused of “inviting their own misery.”
I have become a mockery to them;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
Help me, LORD, my God;
save me in your mercy. (Ps 109:25-26)
If not scorned, the oppressed are also often simply ignored. It is often a “them” problem. If it is not “us,” then it is easy and even natural to separate ourselves from the people we don’t typically even speak of, let alone speak for.
The reality is, there are poor and sick and downcast people all over the world who live a daily, voiceless existence in the shadows. Scripture clearly shows that God has a heart for the poor, and He continually asks us to speak on their behalf. Missionhurst-CICM missionaries aspire to serve just such people. We aspire to bring the Good News to those shadowed and marginalized people and places. We are speaking for them and with them through initiatives and interventions that you, our benefactors, make possible with your support.
We invite you to continue your co-missionary journey with us, finding your voice in chorus with ours through these stories of our work in the missionary corners we serve around the world.
Missionhurst Magazine
“Mpokolo wa Muoyo” (“Source of Life”) is a welcome center for persons in distress in Kananga, a large city of about 1.5 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kananga is the capital city of the Western Kasayi province. This region is profoundly poor. There is no industry; almost the only mode of earning a living is through small enterprise or selling various wares in the markets and on the streets. Moreover, most residents do not have access to water or electricity. The majority of the population is struggling daily to survive.
It was during my theological formation in the seminary that I first realized the profound importance of the Church’s social teachings regarding labor and the plight of workers. But my initial theoretical grasp of the topic would be enhanced later, during the mid-1980s, when I was working as the formator of CICM theology students in New Manila, Quezon City.
In the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, CICM missionaries serve the parish of Our Lady of Fatima. The parish is located in the heart of Kinshasa (capital of the DR of Congo), in an area called Gombe. This area is presumably an upper-class milieu, where the institutions of the Republic are located, as well as many retailers and company office buildings. Usually, it is said that Gombe is for the rich: the well-off people with a certain social status live and work here. Consequently, that is the same label that is attached to Our Lady of Fatima parish, simply because of its location. But in reality, Our Lady of Fatima is a parish that is open to all: the rich, the poor, the sick, the disabled, etc. Because of its central location, its parishioners come from all over the city. And because they come from all over the city, they are essentially from all walks of life.
When I was a boy, my older brother promised me that he would give me a surprise gift if I could make good grades in school. From the moment I heard that I was energized and thrilled. I studied hard every day and did everything that my parents asked me. Sometimes the excitement and anticipation made it hard for me to sleep at night. It was an overwhelming feeling. In the years since then I have read many stories or novels that featured the allure of a surprise gift. The effect portrayed is always one of great joy: a feeling so compelling it can make one forget the problems and difficulties of life.
In 2014, Pope Francis convoked the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, addressing: The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization. To set the tone of this Synod on the Family, Pope Francis urged the bishop-participants to speak with parrhesia: that is, to speak candidly and listen with humility. This was a call for bishops throughout the Church to allow their priests and people to engage in honest conversation about the realities of family life, marriage and human sexuality—in a spirit of respectful and humble dialogue. It was an open invitation for Christians from all walks of life and of varying experiences to participate, discern and contribute their reflections about the realities affecting the family, marriage and human sexuality. In the past, such reflections were mostly confined to theologians. But Pope Francis, through the Synod, opened the gates of reflective dialogue between different stakeholders.
