By Fr. Pat Sayles
The spirit of the Lord is upon me He has anointed me To bring good news to the poor, To bind up hearts that are broken, To proclaim liberty to prisoners, To set the downtrodden free, To herald the Lord’s year of favour. (Isaiah 61)
THE GREAT JUBILEE of the year 2000 will be held to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. It is seen by the Holy Father as a time of special favour from God, of special blessing not only for Christians, but for all the world.
It is a time to humbly ask forgiveness for our own sins and also the sins of the Church and of the world, so that we may all experience a new springtime of God’s grace.
“The church cannot cross the threshold of the new millennium,” the Pope says, “without encouraging her children to purify themselves.” He calls each of us to renew our own lives in a spirit of solidarity with others, in particular, the most needy.
We must open our hearts to the poor. We cannot honestly celebrate 2000 years since Christ’s birth while turning our backs on the poor.
In fact, when we open our hearts to the poor. The Lord opens His heart to us. The closer we come to the poor, the closer the Lord comes to us. The poor are a special means of salvation to the world. Generosity to the needy, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, the weary can cover our multitude of sins and bring us many blessings.
I have put the story of Lucho on this page because Lucho and other shoe-shine boys and other children like him challenge us all in our hearts ever wider to embrace the whole world with our love.
In these three years of special preparation for the millennium the Holy Father asks us to renew our live with stronger faith, surer hope, deeper love.
The time is precious, and this wonderful opportunity for grace is too special to be put to one side because of the busy lives we lead.
Our thanks to all our wonderful Columban benefactors who have opened their hearts to the poor and needy.May the Lord give you all many wonderful graces at this special time.
May your personal preparation for the Great Jubilee be a precious time of the Lord’s favour.
Our special thanks to you all for supporting the work of missionaries who carry on the mission of Jesus himself to preach the good news to the poor.
We must open our hearts to the poor. We cannot honestly celebrated 2000 years since Christ birth while turning our back on His poor.
Jesus, going back one day to the synagogue of his home town, stood up to read. Taking the book of the Prophet Isaiah he read this passage: “This Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the hearts that are broken, to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah.
“Today,” Jesus added, “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. The day of salvation has come.” All Jubilees refer to the Messianic mission of Christ. It is he who proclaims the Good News to the poor. It is he who springs liberty to those deprived of it, who frees the oppressed. The Jubilee, a year of the Lord’s favour, characterizes all the activity of Jesus. (TMA11)
The Jubilee is a time of the Lord’s favour, a year of remission of sins and punishment due to them, a year of reconciliation between disputing parties, a year of manifold conversations and penance, and a granting of indulgences on a larger scale than at other times. The Church ties to ensure that all the faithful can benefit from this grace. (TMA 14)
It was four in the morning. As sometimes happened at that hour I was at Lima’s main airport. I had just seen someone o ff on their long journey back home. My parish was nearby. “Hello Father Pat,” I heard a chirpy voice say. “Hi, Lucho,” I said. Lucho was a ten-year old boy from my parish. He was grinning up at me as he clutched a dirty wooden box on his right shoulder. It was full of an assortment of brushes and polishes. His two hands were black with polish and his old tattered T-shirt and blue ragged jeans were almost were almost as black. Lucho was working as a shoe-shine boy.
It was hard going for the shoe-shine boys on the night shift at the airport. I would always see some from my parish there. They always gave me a friendly greeting. “How’s it going?” I asked. “Great! An American gave me five dollars.” Lucho was pleased with his night’s work.
“I’m heading back now,” I said. “Do you want a lift home?” He nodded.
We journeyed back in an old Volkswagen, chatting. A school building in a shanty town is a busy place. First school takes over from 1pm until 6pm. The third, for adult education, takes over for the rest of the evening.
Lucho was attending afternoon school from 1 to 6, so he would crawl into bed about 5 am and sleep through until midday before preparing for school. In the evening he would have something to eat and then head for the airport. We stopped at his home, a shanty hut with a cardboard roof and walls made from cane. He lived there wit his mother and five brothers and sisters. Life is hard in the shanty towns. Without employment, there is nothing because there is no health service, no social security system, no pension scheme- -nothing.
“You know, Father,” Lucho said proudly, as he was getting out of the car. “I don’t keep any of the money I earn for myself. When I go in the house now I will leave all the money I’ve earned tonight on the table for Mum. In the morning she will see it, and she’ll be able to go off to the market and buy us some food to eat. You know, I’m the only person in our family who earns any money. Good night, Father Pat.”
I was left feeling very humble in the light of a ten-year-old boy’s nightly sacrifice for his family.