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Hear the Cry of the Poor—And Do Something

This is a summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily delivered at St. Charles on October 24, 2004

"El senor escucha a los afligidos." "The lord hears the cry of the poor."

THE LORD HEARS the cry of the poor when we his body have ears to hear and hands to help.

During my time in Banica, Dominican Republic I recall a mother from the village who was helped by the church to send her young son to Boston for heart surgery. The visa, the medical information, the transport and the appointment at the hospital had all been arranged. The mother was anxious because she could not accompany the child in this long trip. She insisted in walking with him to the runway. Thinking that a plane must operate like a bus, she advised the attendant to put him by a window and roll down the window for air. Alarmed, the attendant grounded the plane until the whole situation was double-checked. He did get on the next plane!

This past month Nandy Fragoso, an 8-year-old boy, accompanied by his mother Patuta, came from our Diocesan Mission on the Haiti Border. He was born with a heart defect that urgently needed to be corrected. He comes from a poor family. His father has a handicapped foot and is capable of little work. His mother feeds the family by carrying 5-gallon tanks of water on her head from a river a half-mile away up a steep hill to wash her neighbors' clothes. Through the miracle of modern surgery Nandy has a new lease on life. If our diocesan mission has done no more than save one life it has proven its worth.

On World Mission Sunday we celebrate our mission in the Dominican Republic, where Anne Marie and Kurt Kaufman, Fr. Jack O Hara and I had the privilege to serve.

We also celebrate our outreach to Haiti. There hundreds of children receive education and food because of your support. I was delighted on my last visit to Cavaillon to see a grain mill in operation. The engine had given out. Your financial support has that mill running again. It was a joy to see women bring in sacks of grain, turn them into flour, and then bake cakes for sale at the market.

Despite the chaos created by hurricanes and the political quagmire, which our government's successive interventions only seem to worsen, marvelous things are happening through the churches to sustain faith, health and hope.

We also honor the work of St. Charles Philippine Medical Mission. Currently we are well on our way to establish a new shelter for abused teenage girls in Manila.

When our church is embarrassed by the involvement of clergy in the abuse of children, it is a time to make amends. PMM offers us an opportunity to protect and heal children and youth, whether here among us or thousands of miles away. They are all our children and deserve our care.

With Missions in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Philippines, what more can we do? We have been asked to join Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in anew outreach to those affected by AIDS in Africa. We do not allow for compassion fatigue. If you want something done, ask a busy person. AIDS has left countless orphaned children. Thirteen year olds have lost both parents and take care of their younger siblings. Many of themselves have contacted the disease. We are going to identify a project that will make a difference in the area of care and prevention.

I have noticed that our various missions bring with them greater parish engagement. Filipino members feel a special bond with their compatriots back home. Thirty percent of the children in our school have roots in Africa. I hope African American families will feel a special sense of solidarity with our outreach to their land of origin.

In all of our global missions St. Charles grows in its sense of solidarity. We know that God has difficulty seeing the borders we erect between nations. Mission is as much part of our Catholic tradition as Paddy's pig. We have all grown up with family members spending their ministry in other lands. The wonder of St. Charles is that we can be part of a parish in mission by just belonging right here and continuing to support the projects our parish leaders generate. The Lord does hear the cry of the poor when we go beyond listening to action.

  or  2004 Homilies