By Dr Terry Wilson
“A ship is always safe at the shore, but that is not what it is built for.” – Albert Einstein
Saint Teresa of Avila reminds us: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours”.
In Evangelii Gaudium 49 (‘Joy of the Gospel’), Pope Francis says: “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” [Mk 6:37]”.
The year 2020 has been an extraordinary one because of the COVID-19 pandemic and even more so for the Social Outreach agencies owned and operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth.
COVID-19 increased the need for social outreach to the poor, the homeless, the lonely and the all those in need while at the same time making it more difficult to deliver the assistance required. It has been inspiring this year to see how the Archdiocese’s many Social Outreach agencies have responded, adapting their delivery model to continue to reach those in need, to continue to deliver their service.
If we listen to the words of Jesus, faith does not mean simply believing something. Faith requires action: “if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains – if I am without love, I am nothing … [Love] is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes” (1 Cor 13: 1,2 and 7).
In their ongoing work and in their response to the COVID-19 crisis, our Archdiocesan Social Outreach agencies remind us powerfully that simply believing that Jesus existed is not faith – doing something in response to that belief is faith.
