by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find Him in the Chalice.” (St John Chrysostom)
Every Corpus Christi we are reminded that “Holy Mass… concludes with the sending forth of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives.” (CCC 1328–32). The Eucharist, “the source and summit of the Christian life,” (CCC1324) is a call to action; it is inextricably linked to social justice.
The writer, Daniel Quintero, tells us that “the Eucharist… unites us to foster and defend social justice. Not as a secondary option, but as key to our Eucharistic Identity. Pope Benedict XVI expressed this when he said: ‘It is by receiving the Body of Christ that we receive the strength of unity with God and with one another.’”
“Many defend social justice without expressing its true goal: advancing men’s eternal destiny. With her social doctrine, the Church aims at helping man on the path of salvation. This is her primary and sole purpose. (Compendium, 69). The Eucharist, then, is the key to understanding our final vision for social justice. ‘It is the anticipation of the banquet in the eternal Kingdom’ (Pope Benedict XVI). To strive for Heaven is to take part in the Eucharist. To take part in the Eucharist is to share in solidarity with all members of the mystical Body of Christ. This demands a call to action, a desire to defend life in every stage, to fight persecution in every region, and to love in every act.”
Do we truly understand the transformative power of the Eucharist? Are we so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to heed the words of St John Paul II who said: “A truly Eucharistic community cannot be closed in upon itself”?
St Thomas Aquinas referred to the Eucharist as the sacrament of charity. It should promote inclusivity. Think of this in the context of 62-year-old Christopher Phillip of Laventille who died June 7 on the grounds of the POS General Hospital. How many people of faith passed by on the other side or stood watching him writhing in pain with his “pants soiled with blood”? The preliminary report submitted to the Minister of Health by the NWRHA states that “all protocols were followed” but that Phillip “disappeared twice after being told to wait”. There is conflicting evidence from “witnesses”, including the woman who filmed Christopher on the grass and posted her video – almost seven minutes long, on Facebook.
This action raises another issue. I commend Phillip’s neighbours in Laventille for seeking to “give him a decent burial”. They said: “This is the best we can do for him. Mr Phillip was a good human being. He never interfered with anyone. He was always willing to work and help people.”
As a Eucharistic people, we believe that all lives matter. Each day our media bring new challenges to us. We read that at the recent Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration, Dr Katija Khan, President of T&T’s Association of Psychologists, stated that more than 400 pupils in our primary and secondary schools are “on suicide watch”. Some are as young as seven years old.
Lifeline Director, Lucretia Gabriel stated that the number of people calling in to Lifeline (645-2800) expressing suicidal thoughts has increased dramatically. Reasons include frustrations in the family, personal relationships, and the stressful nature of exams.
And then there is the issue of how we treat the mentally ill in our society. Twenty per cent of T&T’s population suffers from some sort of mental illness. Three mentally ill persons have been shot and killed by police officers this year. The latest was 23-year-old Daniel Paul (June 5) who was allegedly throwing stones at cars and at the police in Ste Madeline. If, as has been stated, the police are trained to deal with the mentally ill but are not equipped to do so, then shooting them dead is not the answer! We can and must do better to promote the sanctity of life and the dignity of each person.
The Eucharist prepares us for mission. “The pain of one, even the smallest member, is the pain of all” (St Augustine). So, remember: “Every time we take part in the Holy Mass and nourish ourselves with the Body of Christ, the presence of Jesus and of the Holy Spirit acts in us, it molds our heart, communicates to us interior attitudes that are translated in behaviour according to the Gospel” (Pope Francis).
