“The Gospel on Five Fingers”
(Saint Mother Theresa)
For many people, as the Pandemic restrictions were lifted, there was a hope that life would go back to normal. Sadly, this has not happened. While vaccination mandates have been lifted and masks have become somewhat optional, it is clear that the world, and more sadly, people were changed by the Pandemic.
For most people, the experience of being locked up and frightened, has not made them better people. There has been a tendency for most to become more selfish and concerned with how others will look after them. People want to know what others can do for them and how other people can be at their service. This selfishness often shows itself in the way that we treat others and how easily people are agitated by requests to care for others and be of service to our neighbour.
At its most extreme the negative consequences of the Pandemic have been evident in our society as people seem less capable of human kindness and some become violent at the slightest provocation. The Pandemic has resulted in a real diminishment in the empathy and compassion that people are capable of showing to others.
As disciples of Jesus, Christians are called to love God above all things and their neighbours as themselves. Believing that all people are made in the image and likeness of God, Christians are to treat each human being as they would treat Christ.
Lent is the season in which we prepare to renew our baptismal promises, and new Christians celebrate the Sacraments of Christian Initiation, at the Easter Vigil. During this season of Lent, we are called to examine our lives to determine what behaviors we need to leave behind in order to be more faithful to the Gospel. During this season, we are called to turn away from the things that prevent us from following Christ and embrace those practices and behaviors which draw us closer to Christ and the call to discipleship.
This Lent, more than ever, it seems that what the world needs is loving witnesses who reach out in compassion to their brothers and sisters. We, and the world, need a Lent of Christian compassionate action and charity. A season in which each person strives to truly love neighbour as self and see Christ in those around us—in our homes, on the streets, in our work places and schools—everywhere where Christ sends us to encounter others.
A few weeks ago, when I preached on the BEATITUDES of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12), I shared with you some thoughts on a wonderful movie I had seen about Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta. In this movie, she spoke of the need to see Christ in our brother and sister and to reach out to encounter Him through the small deeds that we do for others. Saint Mother Theresa summarized the Gospel by what she called the “Gospel on Five Fingers.” This summary was based on Matthew 25:40, in which Jesus told those who had cared for any person in need that: “You did it for me.” Thus the “Gospel on Five Fingers” can be summarized by the words: “YOU- DID -IT-FOR- ME.” This simple summary reminds us to care for others as Christ would, especially our brother or sister in need.
Normally, in Lent, we think of giving something up. This year is a year that needs action and compassion. I would invite everyone this year to think about what you can do for someone in your home or neighbourhood. If you do give something up, like coffee or smoking, donate the savings from your sacrifice to a local charity. In our own community, ShareLife is that charity which reaches out to so many in need so that our local Church can live the Gospel. Not all of us can work with the homeless, distressed and burdened, but through ShareLife our local Catholic Community reaches out to many in need here in our city and around the world. Let us all strive to turn away from the selfishness that has come to dominate so many of our relationships since the Pandemic. If you are able to this, please consider giving a sacrificially generous gift to ShareLife in order that the forty different organizations that serve our brothers and sisters might make Christ present to them in their need.
Although Saint Mother Theresa was very committed to Christian activity by serving Christ in those in need, she was also aware that prayer and fasting were necessary to feed the Christian life. There are all sorts of different prayer opportunities that we might embrace in this Lenten season to feed our spiritual life and Christian activities. Increased prayer time and Bible reading always draw us closer to Christ. Prayer for those in need is especially beneficial. The Stations of the Cross will be prayed in our community during the Fridays of Lent after the 7:00 pm Mass that will be celebrated each Friday of Lent. Father Thomas Rosica, c.s.b., will lead the parish in a Lenten Retreat during the evenings of Sunday, March 26 through Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the church. Please plan on attending. There will also be additional opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession given in the bulletin as another spiritual way to prepare for the renewal of our baptismal promises at Easter. Another beautiful way to celebrate Easter is to mark your calendars and celebrate all of the liturgies of the Easter Triduum here at the parish on Holy Thursday (7:00 pm April 6), Good Friday (3:00 pm April 7) and the Easter Vigil (8:30 pm Holy Saturday).
Many people were changed by the Pandemic. Lent is a season that calls us to change for God. This year, the call to conversion is to turn away from whatever selfishness each one of us has allowed to grow in our hearts because of the Pandemic and the isolation and fear that it caused for many of us. The selfishness crept in slowly over many months. Turning away from it must be more deliberate and intentional. To do so, we must consciously choose to do acts of loving service for others. The motivation for this service is to be found in what Jesus did for us on Good Friday and what God has done for us in the Resurrection of His Son on Easter Sunday. The motivation to live the Gospel of Five Fingers lies in what God has done for us and remembering that when we act to see Christ in those in need, WE DO IT FOR CHRIST.
May God grant you a blessed and life-giving Lent!!
Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor, St. Peter’s Church—Toronto, Ontario
