Missionaries of the Works of Mercy
The Works of Mercy for those displaced by the war
“Yes, Lord, you know: I love you…. Be the Shepherd of my lambs.”
God is Love, as St. John tells us in his first letter, chapter four, seventeenth to nineteenth verses. He created us in his image and expects this love from us. But how can we love God without loving our neighbor created in God’s image? We are all Children of one Father in heaven.
In these weeks, which remind us of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon us, the Word of God, read and meditated upon, invites us to abide in love and unity.
Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples before he ended his mission on earth. Aware that any division would be possible wherever men would live, he prayed to God his Father to preserve his disciples from evil because, being in the world, they are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.
In today’s world, especially in some parts of it such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, unity seems almost lost and it is division that seems to win the hearts of many people.
As a result, people live in unbearable misery. Those who govern these countries rich in natural resources seem to be blinded and do not see the immensity of the riches that the Lord has made available to His Children. This lack of love and unity has a profoundly negative effect on the people who are the victims.
Be the shepherd of my sheep
As we know, after the Resurrection we can no longer see Jesus physically, but He is present and travels with each of us every moment of our lives, just as He promised us on the day He ascended to His loving Father:
“I am with you all days, until the end of time” (Matthew 28:16-20).
All of us are sent by the Lord to proclaim his Good News. Today the world is thirsty and hungry to truly know the Word of God so that it can radically change its life, abandoning the road to perdition and returning to Jesus, full of mercy, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Just as Jesus asks St. Peter to care for his flock, we too in the context in which we live are asked to care for people displaced by war, without shelter, without food, without medical care, who have left everything behind to save their own lives and the lives of their children.
What is more, even by fleeing they are not guaranteed to save their lives, because death often overtakes even in the makeshift camps in which they are housed, where they find no help whatsoever.
The bombs in recent days, have caused the death of more than thirty people, not counting those who have died from hunger, thirst, cold and the stress of daily life.
As Pope Paul VI said at the Council of the Laity in 1974, “Today people need witnesses more than teachers.”
The misery of the brothers and sisters we live with requires us to make a more concrete gesture in addition to the prayer we do for them, through the physical and spiritual works of mercy.
The context of our apostolate in Goma among the displaced people
Today the Lord uses our hands, our feet, our eyes–to save the poor. Many people of good will come to the aid of the displaced, but their numbers are increasing day by day. So, in response to our vocation toward a life of holiness, we went as a community to the displaced people living in the Mugunga camps to practice the works of mercy: giving food to those in need.
The displaced people are really numerous (145,000) and very suffering, so we could only distribute the bare minimum and appealed to the generosity of people of good will.
Our soul cannot rest until it rests in God
We thirst to see all displaced people live in peace someday. When a limb suffers, the whole body suffers. St. Augustine invites us to rest our souls in God. However, preoccupied with so many things, we feel more restless because we seek God away from Him when He has reassured us of His presence.
Without God, our life has no meaning and without Him we can do nothing, as Jesus reminds us. Our soul suffers as we watch helpless people die because of the unquenchable thirst of those who cling to riches.
God, who art merciful, put in the heart of each of us the true thirst that drives us to You, and burn us with the ardor of Your Holy Spirit so that we can do the works of mercy in discretion with those in need, for we know that by serving them, it is You we serve. In this way, at the end of our lives, you may grant us eternal life. Bless, Lord Jesus, all those who perform acts of mercy in hiddenness.
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- Sister Francine Mave Ditsove