Help me live my dignity

Help Me Live My Dignity is the theme of this year's Charity Day which will be held tomorrow. The true significance of this call outreaches far beyond the simple thrust of one's hand into one's pocket to make an offering.

In the life of Jesus Christ we find examples of his concern for the sufferings of people whom he met on the streets: healing the sick, raising from the dead, feeding the multitude on the mountain, calming the winds and the sea to save his disciples from drowning. Most of the deeds which Our Lord Jesus Christ did were miracles which only he could do because he himself was God. But he gave us examples how we, as human beings, can show solidarity with others. The parable of the Good Samaritan, which we find in the Holy Bible, is one of these examples.

Jesus Christ taught us to show love and concern, in a particular way, towards the poor, the sick, people with disability and those who nobody cares for, because these are dearest to him. Therefore we have a Christian duty to try to help them and thus to lessen their suffering. Even in these people, as in all human beings, we must see the image of God. We must not forget that all peoples, of whatever race, colour or belief they are, are brothers and all are children of God. So, in some way or other, we are responsible towards each other; and it is only fair and just that we have to take interest in one another.

In Malta and Gozo we have a number of institutions, mostly run by the Church, that have been looking after needy people for many years. We have homes for orphaned or abandoned children, for old people, for people with disability, for women living in difficult circumstances and for other sorts of people. The most well-known are the creches for children run by the Ursuline Sisters and Id-Dar tal-Providenza for the handicapped at Siggiewi. The San Blas Rehabilitation Centre for drug addicts, run by Caritas Malta, is doing sterling work in helping victims of drug abuse or of alcohol to get back in line and restart a normal life as dignified human beings. The same could be said of the Oasis Foundation in Gozo.

The frequent "invasion" of illegal immigrants is a new problem which our islands are facing. Most of these immigrants, some of them with their families, come from far away countries where the situation is very difficult to live in on account of wars, poverty or other types of misery. They take long days, and sometimes weeks, to travel by sea in small boats, to look for a better life and some of them, after the hardship they suffer during the voyage, do not even make it. These too are our brothers and sisters and they have every right to ask for our assistance and likewise we are in duty bound to help them.

In Malta we have special activities that take place throughout the year with the aim of educating one's conscience in the true spirit of Christian charity and of collecting money to help needy people. We have the National Campaign of Solidarity through Sports, organised by the Kerygma Movement, in aid of Id-Dar tal-Providenza and other institutions, the L-Istrina campaign and the Community Chest Fund in aid of charitable homes, marathon walks or races and other activities. An attestation of the generous heart of the Maltese people was the recent spectacular show of solidarity with the tsunami victims.

Solidarity through Christian charity, however, is not limited to Church activities and neither to special occasions but it is a duty bearing on each and every person, whatever his/her age and according to his/her capabilities and throughout the whole year. Every individual, whether employer or employee, whether a student or a worker, whether young or old, has a duty to show personal interest in the needs, and care, of others. Such show of solidarity applies also to members of the same family, students at school and workmen at their place of work.

In his Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum, Domine (Stay with us, Lord), issued for the Eucharistic Year which started in October 2004, Pope John Paul II launches an appeal to the Christian world on the authentic celebration of this special year. He says: "Can we not make this Year of the Eucharist an occasion for diocesan and parish communities to commit themselves in a particular way to responding with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world? I think, for example, of the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants".

The Holy Father then proceeds with a clarion call to each and every one of us: "These are evils which are present, albeit to a different degree, even in areas of immense wealth. We cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognised as true followers of Christ. This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged".