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Since the early days of the Christian Community, believers have made pilgrimages to the holy places of our faith. People traveled to the Holy Land where Jesus of Nazareth lived, taught, suffered and died, and rose to new life. They wanted to experience the holy places that they read about in the Gospels. Pilgrims would also journey to Rome where Peter and Paul preached the Gospel, also the city of countless martyrs for the faith. People continue to make pilgrimages to Rome, the Holy Land (when it's safe to travel), and to various shrines of the Mother of Jesus… Lourdes, Fatima, Czestochowa, Knock, Guadalupe, etc. Ordinary people, like you and me, make visits to the graves of our family members and friends. All of us need to stop business as usual and remember important people in our lives and the people of our faith lives.
So, why am I making a spiritual pilgrimage to Haiti next week? This is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. There is wide spread misery, poverty, and hunger in Haiti. Children are eating dirt to survive. Yes, you read that correctly, little kids are eating dirt/clay mixed with fat and salt and baked in the Haiti sun. The children of Haiti would love to eat a piece of bread. To eat a little piece of chicken would be too good to be true. Can you picture skinny kids dressed in rags? Then you can picture the children of Haiti. If these kids are lucky, their homes are made of scrap lumber and sheets of recycled tin. Many are forced to sleep on the streets because they have no homes. It's difficult for them to get a good night's sleep because even the rats in Haiti are hungry. The rats want to eat the flesh of these skinny hungry kids. Older kids (10-11-12) beat the younger children in order to keep the rats away. Who cares about these kids? Do they have a future? Their future will be determined by the leaders in their country and the leaders in Washington D.C. In the meanwhile, groups are doing what they can for this poor country.
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So, why am I making a spiritual pilgrimage to Haiti of all places? Not even Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is making apparitions in this "God-forsaken country." "First World Countries" are doing nothing for the poor of Haiti. The only democratically elected president of Haiti, Jean Baptiste Aristide, was forced to flee the country this past February. It is a mess down there, and mess equals extreme poverty. As Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald wrote, there isn't likely to be any aid to Haiti soon, "unless by a miracle, somebody discovers oil in Haiti's tear-soaked plains."
So, why will I take a risk and go to Haiti next week? No one in power seems to care about the poorest people in our part of the world… neither the Haitian leaders of government (who aren't going hungry) nor our own government. But I believe that the God of Jesus cares about the least of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I believe that God wants us to find God among the poor in Haiti. I believe that the Risen Christ is alive with the poor of Haiti. If you could encounter God, Jesus Christ… wouldn't you go on pilgrimage to find God's very real and powerful presence in today's world? Something wonderful is going to happen to Bill Murtaugh next week.
If you want to make a sacrifice for the hungry in Haiti as a disciple of Jesus, write a check to Food For The Poor. I'll make sure that any money you give me will be used to buy food for the poor of Haiti. Can you imagine how much rice we could buy for these people? It will taste better than dirt mixed with fat and salt.
Please pray for me… all I can do is go and trust my Lord.
Father Bill
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