Talk story: Providing food and hope for the hungry

OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY

“Let us dream of such a church: a eucharistic church, made up of women and men who break like bread for all those who chew on loneliness and poverty, for those who hunger for tenderness and compassion, for those whose lives are crumbling because the good leaven of hope is lacking.” (Pope Francis, homily at Italy’s Eucharistic Congress, Sept. 25, 2022)

At the recent closing of Italy’s National Eucharistic Congress on Sept. 25, Pope Francis called all to reflect on the Gospel reading for that Sunday in which Jesus tells the parable about the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, whose name means “God Helps.” The pope pointed out that this Gospel is a call to be a eucharistic church — bread broken for those who hunger for tenderness and compassion “because there is no true eucharistic worship without compassion for the many ‘Lazaruses’ who even today walk beside us.”

Here in Hawaii, for more than 40 years, St. Augustine Parish in Waikiki has been providing food and hope for the hungry in its midst. Recently volunteers involved in the parish Feeding the Hungry ministry gathered for a talk story session. This parish volunteer group represents a beautiful rainbow of diversity, with folks from a variety of cultures including Hawaiian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Samoan, Tongan and Chuukese.

These parishioners shared how they experience the presence of Christ by serving the vulnerable through their Carmen’s Kitchen daily lunch program. Despite their different ethnicities, the volunteers all spontaneously sang in harmonious unison a familiar song from Mass that describes the meaning of their ministry, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto Me.” They also talked story about how volunteering with vulnerable persons helps them become more patient, compassionate, loving persons by recognizing all belong to One Ohana, one human family.

When asked how many of them were eucharistic ministers, only a few of the parish volunteers raised their hands. However, after further reflection on how Jesus established the Eucharist at the Last Supper, which included the service of Christ washing the feet of his disciples, all agreed their parish service of feeding the hungry was “in-deed,” a eucharistic ministry.

They talked about being inspired by Hawaii’s saints and following in their footsteps, literally in the shadow of the parish’s Saints Damien and Marianne Educational Center, which tells the story of selfless service with the poor in Hawaiian history. They also discussed the challenges of their food ministry during the difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic and their parish’s continued commitment of eucharistic service to feed the increasing number of hungry in Hawaii today.

According to the Hawaii Food Bank (hawaiifoodbank.org/covid-19) nearly a quarter-million Hawaii residents are still struggling to put food on the table, including isolated kupuna and more than 82,000 keiki. That’s why organizations like Feeding America (feedingamerica.org) the largest domestic hunger relief organization in America, is urging everyone to continue their efforts to help heal hunger. All in Hawaii are encouraged to provide food and/or cash donations year-round to support their parish food ministries, and community food banks.

For more on these vital efforts to feed the hungry in Hawaii and a listing of food banks serving each island with links to their websites, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website (officeforsocialministry.org). There one can also find the full text of Pope Francis’ homily on becoming a eucharistic church which, in the words of our Holy Father, “knows how to bend with compassion and tenderness before the wounds of those who suffer, lifting up the poor, wiping away the tears of those who suffer, making herself the bread of hope and joy for all.”

Mahalo,

Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry