When Dutch Jesuit priest Frans Van der Lugt was given a chance to leave the besieged Syrian city of Homs, he refused, saying “I will not leave my people”. In the midst of the Syrian civil war, Van der Lugt offered shelter to both Muslim and Christian families and worked tirelessly to alleviate widespread suffering and hunger among civilians. In his own words, “I don’t see Muslims or Christians, I see, above all, human beings who hunger to lead a normal life. How can I leave? This is impossible.”

A few days later, a single masked gunman dragged the 75-year-old priest outside the monastery where he lived, and shot him twice in the head. He died for the country that adopted him. He died for the country he loved. This is Jesus Christ in Gethsemane, saying: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” This is the Church.

South Korean priest Fr John Lee Tae-soek, who was also a doctor, had been accustomed to practising medicine in the spotless conditions of Korean army wards. His first sight of the leper colony in southern Sudan came as a big shock. He was so scared of lepers that he initially hid from them.

But by God’s grace he became their champion. He built a medical clinic, treated some 300 patients a day. He worked for nine years as part of the Salesian mission in war-ravaged southern Sudan, giving it the full benefit of his talents as a doctor devoted to leprosy victims.

Bishop Paul Choi Duk-ki, from the diocese where Fr John hailed from, was determined to travel and meet him in the flesh. Deeply touched by what he saw as he walked with Fr John, he des­cribed his experience thus: “Walking with him was like walking with Jesus”.

God wants His Church to make a difference, standing up for the victims of physical, psychological and even political abuse

In 2010, at the young age of 47, Fr John lay dying of cancer surrounded by his fellow Salesians. A few hours before his death, he awoke and said: “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right.” He was referring to Sudan. His prophetic vision for south Sudan was realised within a year of his death. The southern Sudanese voted and gained independence. This is the Church.

As we turn to Malta we must acknowledge with deep gratitude that the good and merciful Lord has spared us from the afflictions of war and extreme bacterial infections like leprosy. We must also acknowledge the generosity of many Maltese priests and religious, including lay people, who leave their comfort zone and follow their calling in the most impoverished countries. We must also acknowledge the big-heartedness of our nation in engaging in charitable causes and events. This is the Church where action speaks louder than words.

Yet, even in our island in the sun, we live with a subtle inequity of wealth and power which are sometimes gained through unjust means at the cost of faithful taxpayers.

God is a God of justice and wants His people, His Church to make a difference, standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, standing up for the victims of physical, psychological and even political abuse. The Church of Jesus Christ is not a complacent Church. It is a Church that is called to come forth from its comfort zone into the streets where the common person is struggling to make ends meet, where helpless women sacrifice their dignity in prostitution, where our vulnerable youth are ensnared in unhealthy entertainment by ruthless commercial giants and drug lords, where refugees are still regarded as a second-class citizens.

Pope Francis’ call is the call of the Eucharistic sacrament, a call to let Christ’s love permeate and transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude, a call that echoes the heart on fire of Van der Lugt, martyred for Christ, or Fr John, who lived among the lepers of South Sudan.

gordon@atomserve.net

Gordon Vassallo is an accredited spiritual guide at the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality.

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