Pope: "Our relationship with God passes through giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty"

"It is necessary to cultivate a public conscience that preserves food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination". "One of the consequences of the so-called 'wellbeing' is to lead people to withdraw into themselves, making them insensitive to the needs of others."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Access to food and water are "universal rights of all human beings" and, at the same time, " our relationship with God passes through giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty" because "faith, if it is not followed by works, is dead in itself, it is incapable of doing works of charity of showing love. There is always someone who is hungry and thirsty and who needs me. I cannot delegate anyone else. The poor needs me, my help, my word, my commitment. The illustration of the works of mercy, to which the Pope has dedicated his general audience today was on "feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty."

The Pope started from the premise that "one of the so-called  consequences of 'wellbeing' is to lead people to withdraw into themselves, making them insensitive to the needs of others," even to those who hunger and thirst.

He told the 40 thousand people in St. Peter's Square : “It creates illusions,  presents ephemeral models of life, that disappear after a few years, as if our lives were a fad to follow and change with every season. Not so. Reality must be accepted and dealt with for what it is, and often there is the need to meet urgent situations. This is why, among the works of mercy, is the call to aid those who hunger and thirst: feeding the hungry, there are many today, and giving water to the thirsty. How often are we reminded by the media of all those who are suffering from lack of food and water, with serious consequences particularly for children.

"Faced with some news and especially certain images, the public feels touched and this can give rise to solidarity campaigns. Generous donations are made and in this way you can help alleviate the suffering of so many. This form of charity is important, but perhaps it does not involve us directly. But when, going down the street, we meet a person in need, or a poor man comes knocking at the door of our house, it is very different, because we are no longer presented with an image, but we are personally involved. Poverty in the abstract does not challenge us, but it makes us think, it makes us critical; but when you see poverty in the flesh of a man, a woman, a child, this is what challenges us! And for this, that habit we have of fleeing from the needy, of not approaching them or to try and cover up the reality of those in need some stylish trend. So we move away from this reality. There is no longer any distance between me and the poor when I encounter them. There is no longer any distance between me and him or her, and I ask myself. In these cases, what is my reaction? To I turn away and pass by? Or do I stop and talk to this person and show my interest in them?  And if you do this, there will always be someone who will say, 'but you're crazy to talk to a poor person'. Do I try to deal quickly in some way with them just to get rid of them  as soon as possible? But maybe all they are asking for is: something to eat and drink. Think for a moment: how many times we say the 'Our Father', and yet we do not really focus on those words: 'Give us this day our daily bread'. "

"In the Bible, a Psalm says that God is the one who" gives food to every living thing "(136.25). The experience of hunger is tough. He knows something about those who lived through times of war or famine. Yet this experience is repeated every day and lives next door to abundance and waste. The words of the Apostle James are always current: "what good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"(2.14 to 17) then they are incapable of doing deeds, charity, of loving. There is always someone who is hungry and thirsty and who needs me. I can not delegate this to anyone else. This poor person needs me, my help, my word, my commitment. It is also the teaching of that page of the Gospel where Jesus saw many people following him for hours, and so he asked his disciples, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (Jn 6,5). And the disciples respond: 'It is impossible, it is better that you leave them ...'. But Jesus tells them: 'No. Give them something to eat '(cf. Mk 14:16). So they give the few loaves and fishes that they had with them, blesses them, breaks them and tells them to give some to all. It is a very important lesson for us. It tells us that the little we have, if you rely on the hands of Jesus, and we share it with faith, becomes a superabundant "wealth.

"Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, says:" Feed the hungryis an ethical imperative for the universal Church, as she responds to the teachings of her Founder, the Lord Jesus, concerning solidarity and the sharing of goods. Moreover, the elimination of world hunger has also, in the global era, become a requirement for safeguarding the peace and stability of the planet "(n. 27). Do not forget the words of Jesus: "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:35) and "He who is thirsty come to me" (Jn 7:37). They are for all of us believers a provocation these words, a provocation to recognize that, our relationship with God passes through giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, a God who has revealed himself in Jesus his face of mercy ".

After the speech, Francis recalled that next Sunday October 23  the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday, "a precious opportunity to reflect on the urgency of the missionary commitment of the Church and of each Christian. We too - he said - are called to evangelize in the environment in which we live and work. "

Greeting the Polish pilgrims, the Pope recalled that today the liturgy commemorates the martyr Blessed Fr Jerzy Popieluszko, the Polish priest killed by the communist regime in 1984, beatified on June 6, 2010. "He - said Francis - exposed himself personally in favor of the workers and their families, demanding justice and dignified living conditions, civil and religious freedom of the Fatherland. The words of St. Paul: 'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good' (Rom 12:21) were the theme of his ministry. These words are also for you today, for all the families and the Polish people a challenge to build a just social order in the everyday life in search of the Gospel".

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