Have you ever been hungry, really hungry? I mean the kind of hunger that has your stomach hurting, your head aching,your emotions angry and frustrated, your body exhausted? Then, when you finally had food to eat, how did you feel? My guess is that you felt energetic, satisfied, positive, ready to do something. Every year, the season of Lent begins with the same Gospel verses, MATTHEW 6:1-6, 16-18. Jesus challenges His followers ( you and me!) to do something. Jesus commands us, Matthew 6:2-4, to help the poor and hungry(giving alms means helping the poor). Why did Jesus make this so important? Because in Matthew 4:2, Jesus Himself did not eat and was hungry, really hungry! Jesus experienced what it meant to feel all the bad things that happen when our bodies are starving. So, Jesus told His followers that feeding the hungry is a very important way to show our faith in God.
In our country, the USA, the richest country in the world, millions of our citizens are hungry. Most of them are women and children...not children in some foreign country, OUR CHILDREN! Yet, people in the government do not seem to care. Recently, in the US House of Representatives, many of these politicians voted to cut over $500 MILLION dollars to a program called WIC. WIC means "Women, Children and Infants." The WIC program provides food and basic items (diapers,formula, etc) to poor women and their families. Yet, the people in the Congress voted to stop helping these women and their families. We have millions of children in our country who go to bed hungry at night, day after day. This means that their bodies will not grow like healthy children; they are more likely to become sick; they will not do well in school. At the same time, the same Congress voted to build more nuclear submarines (Trident submarines). Each Trident costs 7 BILLION dollars; the Congress wants to build 10 of them. Yet, the same Congress does not want to feed the hungry children of our country. Shame!
What can we do? First, we can contact our U.S. Senators and Representatives. Tell these people we want the hungry children of our country fed! The government has enough money for weapons; then it has enough money for food. Second, each of us can think how we can do our own part to feed hungry people. We can contribute to programs like Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul, Feed America, etc.Third, we can contribute at the food store by adding several dollars to our food bill; the store will use that money to contribute food to the poor. Whatever we can give, we are doing what the Lord wants us to do. Our "hunger" to do what is right will be rewarded in heaven. Read Matthew 6:1-18, and see what God promises us!
"God's reign is already present on our earth in mystery. When the Lord comes, His reign(kingdom) will be made perfect. That is the hope that inspires Christians. We know that EVERFY effort to better our world, especially when injustice and sin is so powerful, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us." - Archbishop Oscar Romero, El Salvador, March 24, 1980.