Do you know the way to the Post Office?

Fr. Rodrigo Mejia, SJ (November 2002)

A priest friend of mine was preaching for the first time in the parish church of the town where he had been recently assigned. He was adamant: "Human beings live not on bread alone but on every world that comes from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4). My brothers and sisters: I think we are wrong in the Catholic Church by getting involved in social and development projects. This is not the task of the Church. The mission of the Church is purely spiritual, namely, liturgy, sacraments and prayer. All the rest: politics, development and social services are the concern of the governments, not our concern.

Therefore, please, do not come to me for these worldly matters. I am available only for the spiritual matters for which I was ordained, not for water projects, health, relief and the like".

After Mass and breakfast my friend went out. He had to bring an urgent letter to the post office and since he did not know well the town he asked a street-child: "My son, can you show me the way to the post office in this town?" The boy, with eager eyes responded: "Of course... but what are you going to give me?" The priest replied: "Poor dear child, do not be so materially oriented in your life. There are other things more important than money in this life. I can give you better things than money! "The street child asked with interest: "Ah yes? What can you give me?" The Priest solemnly replied: "I can show you the way to heaven, my child." Then the boy smiled and said: "That I cannot believe.. If you do not know even the way to the post office, how can you know the way to heaven?" And he left the priest speechless with the urgent letter still in his hand.

The story seems like a joke, but it may betray a deeper reality. If the Church ~nts to guide people to heaven it has to know people on earth, their needs, their aspirations, and their human life. It has to be a Church "expert in humanity" not in the life of angels. The street kid theology was right.

This is exactly what the Second Vatican Council taught almost 40 years ago: "The joy and hope, the sadness and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor and afflicted are also the joy and hope, the sadness and anguish of the disciples of Christ; there is nothing really human that does not find an echo in their heart." (pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1)

Of course, the mission of the Church is spiritual and it was established by Christ in order to save human beings. But the human being is not only spirit; it was created by God as a unity of body and soul and both need to be saved. "It is the whole person and all human persons that are to be evangelized", wrote Pope Paul VI in his Letter on the Development of Peoples (cf. No. 12-14). This was the attitude of Jesus himself who was moved to compassion for the sick, the poor, the lepers, the widows and all those who suffered. He healed them not as a condition for them to become his followers but out of real compassion because compassion is a divine virtue.

It is true that the Catholic Church is not the only community in society which is responsible for social services to which the citizens have right and for which they pay their taxes. It is true that within the Church itself there are various ministries and responsibilities and that the human and social needs are not the exclusive concern of the parish priest alone. But it is equally true that the priests have to be concerned by these human and social needs and must see to it that in their parish the community of Christians is sensitive to them and take care of them in the measure of their possibilities.

James the Apostle wrote in his letter: "If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, 'I wish you well; keep yourself worm and eat plenty' without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that? In the same way faith: if good deeds do not go with it, it is quite dead." (James 2: 15-17). I wish that my friend priest read again this letter; for him this is perhaps a more urgent letter than the one he had in hand.